Alice Braga Replacing Rosario Dawnson As Dr. Cecilia Reyes In X-Men: The New Mutants

While a lot of the recent attention around Marvel has fallen on the premiere of Spider-Man: Homecoming, a new casting announcement for X-Men: The New Mutants has sparked curiosity into that sect of the Marvel universe.

According to Variety, Alice Braga has taken over the role initially given to Rosario Dawson. She was expected to play Dr. Cecilia Reyes, but has exited the project without a clear explanation. While details surrounding Dawson's departure are still unknown, we should expect a statement to be made within the coming weeks. Moreover, Braga taking over for Dawson should reign in equally positive results. Braga herself has been featured in quite a few sci-fi movies, such as Elysium, Predators and Repo Men, so she should feel right at home as a part of the New Mutants cast.

As for Braga's character, Dr. Cecilia Reyes, she has quite a story to tell if her comic counterpart is at all indicative of the pivotal role she'll play in New Mutants. The small character description provided, indicates that Braga's character, Dr. Reyes, will work as a mentor to the young team of mutants. Meaning, Reyes likely plays a role similar to Charles Xavier's for the new team of mutants. For more insight into Alice Braga's character, let's take a look at Dr. Cecilia Reyes' comic origins.

Dr. Cecilia Reyes' Comic Origins Explained

In the comics, Reyes is a mutant, but unlike most mutants whose abilities manifest themselves during adolescence, Reyes' mutant gene didn't become active until later in life. After her mutant powers first activated themselves, Reyes was approached by Charles Xavier who offered her a place at the X-Mansion, but refused. Reyes refused mainly to keep her mutant identity a secret while she worked as a trauma surgeon. Although, Reyes was forced to leave her life as a doctor behind during the Operation Zero Tolerance event, where mutants were targeted by Bastion and his legion of Prime Sentinels.

Eventually Bastion was defeated by the XMen, but despite that defeat, Reyes was left without a life to return to. Having been outed for being a mutant, Reyes was fired from her job. As a result, Reyes then joined up with the X-Men, where she went on multiple adventures with the mutant team.

As for Reyes' mutant powers, they allow her to form bio-plasma fields around her body, protecting her from projectiles and various types of kinetic blasts. Initially, Reyes' force-fields would activate subconsciously as a reaction to danger, but she eventually learned to control her abilities well enough to manifest weapons out of plasma energy.

How Much Of Reyes' Comic Origins Will Make It Into The New Mutants?

Without speculating too much, it seems like the cinematic version of Dr. Cecilia Reyes will be almost identical to her comic counterpart. Since Reyes (Alice Braga) has already been confirmed as a doctor with psionic abilities, it's fair to say the comics will play heavily into the cinematic adaptation. Of course, we should be open to the possibility of Reyes' role with the X-Men / New Mutants expanding from just being a member of the team, to being a teacher like Charles Xavier—considering how the character description provided so far indicates that Reyes is a mentor to the young mutants.

New Mutants opens in theaters on April 13, 2018.