Who is Cassandra Nova, the main villain of Deadpool & Wolverine?

For fans wondering who Deadpool and Wolverine are joining forces against, they got their answer in the trailer unveiled on Monday. Emma Corrin pops up as Cassandra Nova, the chief villain of the film that will see Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool reunite with Hugh Jackman's iconic X-Men member, Wolverine. (Also Read – Deadpool & Wolverine trailer: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman join forces to save the world. Watch)

Emma Corrin plays Cassandra Nova in Deadpool & Wolverine

Shawn Levy's Deadpool threequel will mark the first time Cassandra will be seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Considered one of the most formidable X-Men villains alongside the likes of Apocalypse and Mister Sinister, Cassandra is the evil twin sister of Professor Charles Xavier, the X-Men patriarch popularly played by Patrick Stewart in the X-Men movies and then the MCU.

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Cassandra has the same superpowers as Charles Xavier. She not only has psychic abilities like her twin brother, but also telekinetic powers like his most powerful student, Jean Grey. As per the X-Men comics, Cassandra is a mummudrai, a parasitic life form who existed alongside Charles Xavier in their mother's womb. She even tried to kill him inside the womb, but Charles defended himself with a psychic blast that led to their mother's miscarriage, resulting in Cassandra body being stillborn. However, she soon rebuilt herself and swore to destroy Charles Xavier and his X-Men.

In the comics, Cassandra is most infamous for the mass murder of 16 million mutants in Genosha, when she led an army of Sentinels to invade the mutant homeland, even killing the mighty Magneto. The Genosha genocide was also a storyline in the ongoing X-Men ‘97 animated series. However, at the end of the latest episode, the mastermind behind the same was revealed to be Mister Sinister, thus saving Cassandra’s MCU debut for Deadpool & Wolverine.

As shown in the film's trailer, British actor Emma Corrin will play Cassandra. She's seen in a bald avatar in the trailer, once levitating out of what looks like the giant mouth of Ant-Man. Emma is best known for playing Princess Diana in Netflix show The Crown Season 3 (2020). She was also seen in My Policeman and Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022).