What's Next For Rose Byrne's Moira MacTaggert?

by Ryan Rigley

Australian actress Rose Byrne is probably best known for her pivotal role in the Oscar-nominated hit-comedy "Bridesmaids." But let's not forget about her part in last year's "X-Men: First Class" as Moira MacTaggert, the CIA Agent that assists the mutant team in preventing a nuclear holocaust. Recently, there's been talk of a sequel to the widely celebrated prequel with director Matthew Vaughn once again helming the project.

When asked her opinions on the "X-Men: First Class" sequel and whether or not she'd be reprising her role, Byrne told MTV News: "I really enjoyed my time on X-Men and Matthew Vaughn is super great and talented. I think these things take a while to marinate and come together. But yeah, I'd love to." Sounds like we could be seeing more of Moira MacTaggert in the near future!

MacTaggert's role in the movie is vastly different from her role in the comic book, in which she works as a geneticist and overall ally to the X-Men from her base on Muir Island in Scotland. Also, she's Scottish. Not American. However, the character does appear in 2006's "X-Men: The Last Stand" in a role that more closely resembles her comic book persona. Perhaps, the sequel to "X-Men: First Class" will make an attempt to bridge the gap between Moira the CIA agent and Moira the geneticist.

But that's just one theory. The following is a list of things we'd like to see Moira MacTaggert take on in the "X-Men: First Class" sequel.

» 1. Build Cerebro

In "X-Men: First Class", Xavier uses a CIA manufactured, Cerebro-like device in order to recruit fellow mutants for his Shaw-stopping squad. But the real Cerebro has yet to be built. In the comic books, Moira not only helped create Cerebro but was also a founding partner of the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. We'd love to see Rose Byrne building Cerebro, mostly because we don't know how exactly it works.

» 2. Meet Cable

For those of you that don't know, Cable is the son of Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Madelyne Pryor (a clone of Jean Grey) that was raised in a post-apocalyptic wasteland ruled by a maniacal mutant overlord and then sent back in time to prevent that future from ever happening. Upon his arrival, Moira welcomed the strange, techno-organic mutant with open arms, taking him in and teaching him how to speak English before sending him off to meet with her dear friend, Charles Xavier.

» 3. Alter Magneto's Genes

Being the awesome geneticst that she is, Moira was able to alter Magneto's genetic code in an attempt to prevent him from turning to a life of evil. But that didn't last very long. In retaliation, Magneto forced Moira to perform the same procedure on half of the X-Men, forcing them to turn against their teammates. How amazing would that movie be?

» 4. Get Possessed

At one point, the nefarious Shadow King was able to gain a mental hold on the entire population of Muir Island. Under the Shadow King's influence, Moira and a heaping helping of lesser known mutants were pitted against the entirety of the X-Men and X-Factor combined. The battle raged on until eventually Xavier was able to free the Muir inhabitants from the Shadow King's possession.

» 5. Hook Up With Banshee

In the comics, Moira MacTaggert and Sean Cassidy (Banshee) are an adorable on-again/off-again couple. Being as Banshee is an Irish mutant and Moira is a Scottish advocater of mutants, the two hit it off almost immediately. Both of these characters appear in "X-Men: First Class", despite the fact that Banshee appears to be a little too young for Moira. But maybe they can pull an "Attack of the Clones" and rapidly age Banshee for the sequel, making it appropriate for him and Moira to date!

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