I liked Shipp as Storm, more than Halle. Shipp gave a go at an African accent. Eventually Halle got more screen time than Shipp, but overall, I liked Shipp more. Back then, I would've preferred Angela Bassett, but seeing what little they gave the character to do, I was fine with Halle getting the role (I think Angela is a better actress and such a background role would've been a waste of her in her prime, but even with that, I do feel that Halle was too underused). I also thought Shipp's Storm movie idea wasn't bad either. I wouldn't mind seeing that get adapted into comic or novel form, because I don't see a Storm solo movie happening anytime soon. Perhaps a storyline like that could factor into all the multiverse shenanigans in the MCU.
I have to wonder if Shipp's evolution on whether a darker skinned actress should play Storm is in part her having her eye on the chance, she will be invited back to participate in a MCU movie or Disney Plus series as her version of Storm. Her change of thought on the idea could be legit, and it has been some years since the Twitter spat, so she's had time to think and do other things, and perhaps look at it from a different perspective. That said, she has to know that holding on to her own stance was a losing proposition and she's moved to a safer harbor. I recall how she wanted to play Storm in a future Black Panther movie, but perhaps after seeing that wasn't going to happen, or getting with the feminist zeitgeist at the time, pooh poohed the idea later, and that kind of opportunistic change of heart could be happening again here.
All that said, I do think she had every right to be in her feelings about people going after while keeping the Storm role still could've happened. I am also not a fan of some of this colorism conversation or how it often goes, because I feel it tends to be another way to divide the community and also allow some people to seek attention. I never had a problem with Halle or Shipp playing Storm from a casting perspective. Granted, the character is darker in the comics, but I didn't find her noticeably so. When Halle got the role, it was just good enough that they cast a black actress period, so I think the colorism crowd should remember that.
I do find it funny that when Shipp proclaims she won't go after another black actress in the article she inadvertently, subconsciously, or perhaps it was conscious, alludes to Zoe Saldana's controversial take on Nina Simone.
