Alexandra Shipp is officially Hollywood’s new "It Girl." Director Bryan Singer confirmed via Twitter that the House of Anubis star will be cast as Storm in the next X-Men installment, X-Men: Apocalypse.

Calling Shipp one of his “new and brilliant young mutants,” the X-Men director leaked the news to fans of the on-screen comic-book franchise yesterday evening.

X-Men: Apocalypse is the follow-up to the storyline of the 2011 box-office hit X-Men: First Class, which chronicled the exploits and adventures of the younger versions of characters Mystique, Magneto and Charles Xavier.

This marks an acting hot streak for Shipp, who previously starred in Lifetime’s controversial but highly rated TV biopic Aaliyah, VH1’s Drumline and will soon be seen in the upcoming highly anticipated N.W.A. feature film biopic, Straight Outta Compton.
Some on social media are not happy with the selection of Shipp. One person commented, "Alexandra Shipp may have ruined Aaliyah's image but I refuse to let her ruin Storm." Another person tweeted, "Storm is dark-skinned and African, Alexandra Shipp is neither. And does she even have the chops?" Also, an online petition was created insisting Bryan Singer recast Storm.  

X-Men: Apocalypse is scheduled for release in 2016.

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(Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Variety)