By James Pearson on
Meet your new X-Men!
After speculation, rumour and many fans’ wishful thinking, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige capped off his presentation during D23 by unveiling some (with hints to more reveals to come) of the upcoming new X-Men movie. Director Jake Schreier was joined onstage by star Sadie Sink, who made her debut as Jean Grey in Marvel Studios’ ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’.
‘It is so wonderful to be here and to finally be able to talk about this character after months of speculation,’ Sink told the crowd. Clearly excited to finally be able to talk about a role she has kept so tight-lipped about over the last couple of months, during the movie’s press tour.
‘We’re here to talk about the X-Men. Should we meet some more of the cast?’
With Sadi’s prompt, they then welcomed Sink’s new co-stars to the stage: Kit Connor as Scott Summers/Cyclops, Christopher Abbott as Professor Charles Xavier, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, and Maya Boyd as Storm/Ororo Munroe.
Aside from Professor X and Storm, most of this cast wasn’t too much of a surprise. Kit and Samara were already confirmed by Deadline earlier in the month, and Inde as Rogue was a curveball, but purely from her pretty smart PR move of pushing her casting fit a different role. (That role being Mystique, Rogue’s adoptive mother in the comics… was this maybe her teasing us all along?) But we have our X-Men… What about our villain?
Well, that reveal came quickly when, to wrap up the announcements, Feige directed fans to the screen, where we were greeted by Adam Driver! Many fans will know Driver has been an actor Feige and the MCU have been after for some time, and it seems they have finally found the character for him. That being the infamous X-Men villain: Nathaniel Milbury - AKA Mister Sinister! However, this was revealed after he teased the crowd by casting himself as Magneto? Is that a tease to the character joining the movie? Or a wink to his rumoured casting of the character over the last couple of months?
Feige ended the panel hinting that there’s more X-Men casting news to come, but he couldn’t wait to introduce this first group of actors (many of whom met backstage at D23 for the first time), and I’m sure many eagle-eyed viewers will notice most, if not all, the castings revealed were ones reported and heavily speculated on over the past month. So I’m sure a large part of the reveal was to finally put those rumours to bed.
I myself am very excited! I think the cast looks strong, and with a large majority having a background in the stage, I’m sure we are in for some top-notch performances!
The two standouts for me are: Kit Connor as Cyclops and Maya Boyd as Storm.
I’ve been a fan of Kit since I saw him in Heartstopper, and I’m excited for this next step. I think he’s gonna bring some real emotion to the role of Cyclops, and I’m excited for the MCU to not only return the X-Men’s OG leader back into the spotlight, but to also explore his character growth from an unsure teen to a courageous leader.
Then there’s Maya. A relatively unknown. This is Maya’s first feature film; despite many having concerns about this fact, I’m excited! I love it when Marvel takes relatively unknown actors and raises their profile by giving them a platform to grow. I’m excited to see what she does with Storm, and I’m sure her background on stage and in the theatre will definitely help with Storm’s Godly presence she is so well known for.
The rest of the cast looks ace, but who’s missing? Well, we have Scott and Jean; I’m still hoping we finally get our proper live-action rendition of the OG class of X-Men: Cyclops, Jean, Beast, Iceman, and Angel. And maybe even a Magneto and Mystique reveal soon?
Either way, it seems shooting begins soon for the movie, so I’m sure more reveals are to come.
Schreier, who previously directed Marvel Studios’ ‘Thunderbolts*’, will helm the untitled* X-Men* movie, which will be released exclusively in theatres on May 5, 2028.