We have so many questions after that spectacular first-look trailer for Deadpool 3 Deadpool & Wolverine but one of the most intriguing is: what’s the deal with that bald villain?

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Well, while the trailer was surprisingly low on spoilers (but high on Easter eggs) as Marvel continues to keep much about Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy’s threequel to themselves, we’re pretty sure we know who this is and who they are playing. This is no doubt Emma Corrin, who was first announced to have joined the film in February 2023, likely as the villain. Rumors then swirled that The Crown star was playing Cassandra Nova. That’s a name that might mean nothing to fans of Fox’s X-Men film series but comes with a lot of weight for comic book readers.

We didn’t get to see Corrin’s Cassandra do much in the trailer, other than look menacing from behind while wreathed in shadow, but just know that Deadpool hasn’t met anyone as dark and as dangerous as the cruel and vastly powerful villain before.

Emma Corrin’s Cassandra Nova could be Deadpool’s deadliest enemy yet

As introduced during Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s mind-bending New X-Men run in 2001, Cassandra Nova can essentially be summed up as Professor X’s evil twin sister, but the truth is a lot more complicated and twisted than that.

Cassandra is what’s known as a mummudrai, a psychic parasite that exists without a physical form on the astral plane. Due to Charles Xavier’s incredible psychic powers, she was conceived into existence alongside him and fashioned herself a body out of his DNA while in the womb. When she was strong enough, Cassandra attempted to strangle her “brother” with his own umbilical cord, but the fetal Professor X hit her with a psychic blast, causing their mother to have a miscarriage, with Cassandra stillborn.

But Cassandra’s consciousness survived, and years later she rebuilt herself an adult body and set about destroying everything Charles held dear, including his beloved X-Men and the world’s mutant population at large. Due to her unkillable nature, Cassandra has returned time and time again to make Xavier’s life a misery, teaming up with the likes of the Shi’ar Empire, the Marauders, and the Hellfire Club in order to put her (typically genocidal) plans into action.

In the comics, Cassandra is usually portrayed as an elderly, bald woman, but unless some facial prosthetics have been employed, we can expect Corrin’s take to be strikingly different. It’s easy to speculate that Cassandra has been aged down in order to make her more of a physical threat to both Deadpool and Wolverine. Or perhaps she’s been reimagined as Charles’ evil daughter instead? Do I smell a Legion crossover?

The possibilities are endless, but if Cassandra Nova is coming to the MCU, then the X-Men will want to watch out. Deadpool 3 is scheduled to release in theaters on July 26, 2024.