[#item_full_content] [[{“value”:”There was a lot of big news out of D23, but arguably the biggest reveal was the rollout of the core cast for Marvel Studios’ long-awaited new X-Men movie, which will finally incorporate one of Marvel’s most popular properties into the MCU proper.
Bits of casting had leaked and been rumored — and of course we had the surprise reveal of Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day — but now we have a fairly full roster of which actors and specific characters will make up the first version of the X-Men to bring the team into this larger continuity.
I’ll start out by saying, I’m a big fan of the casting overall. They went fairly young, meaning if things go well, these actors could hang onto these roles for well over a decade (much like Tom Holland has done with his Spidey role). They’ve gone with some well-known stars, and a good bit of buzzy up-and-comers, which should bring a fresh vibe to a franchise that even the most casual fan is already familiar with as a box office staple from years past.
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Remember, the X-Men are arguably the most popular, enduring comic book film franchise this side of Spider-Man and Batman — the pressure is on for Marvel to get this right on the first shot, and establish a new version of the X-Men that can (hopefully) be at least as popular as the universe Fox built with Hugh Jackman and the gang. The expectation is for this to be a tentpole franchise, bare minimum.
The new X-Men cast breakdown
As a fan of X-Men movies since back when Wolverine first flipped Cyclops the bird with his middle claw back in 2000 (and a kid of a certain age who grew up watching the OG X-Men animated series), I’m extremely invested in seeing what the studio does here.
So first off, here’s the new roster:
Jean Grey (Sadie Sink)
Scott Summers/Cyclops (Kit Connor)
Professor Charles Xavier (Christopher Abbott)
Samara Weaving (Emma Frost)
Inde Navarrette (Rogue)
Maya Boyd (Storm)
Adam Driver (Nathaniel Milbury/Mister Sinister)
Beyond the casting itself, I’m most interested in seeing the character list for which mutants will apparently be the biggest part of the puzzle for the first film. I honestly half-expected Marvel to throw a fun curveball and possibly even base the first run at a new X-Men movie on the original, classic roster from the comics: Professor X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, Iceman and Angel.
But that obviously doesn’t seem to be the case here, with the line-up instead leaning into characters who largely played key roles in the Fox version of the X-Men universe (with the note that Emma Frost and Mr. Sinister will apparently be getting bigger roles here).
Considering we have a new Professor X, along with a new Jean and Cyclops, it seems they’ll likely be keeping to the classic set-up of Xavier running a school for gifted students and using that as the impetus for a super-team. The addition of Emma Frost is interesting, as she’s a character who has been both an enemy and ally throughout the comics — so plenty of potential there to play with. Adam Driver is also great casting for Mister Sinister, who will presumably be the main villain (one would imagine) for the film.
So it seems we’re getting the basic characters and plot points general fans would be familiar with, but with enough tweaks and omissions to make something new to fit in the MCU.
But who’s missing?
A few characters notably not on the cast list? No Magneto, and no Wolverine — two characters who had been integral to the film saga that Fox built. Leaving them on the bench to start (assuming they’re not added down the line) feels like a good move. It gives Marvel the chance to tell a different kind of story, and establish this group of characters without the shadow of Wolverine recasting drama hanging over the whole movie.
My guess is they’ll take a beat before trying to recast Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, if only because that is going to be a hard one to figure out when the time comes. Best to give fans a bit of time to process the change, and an opportunity to establish this new world so there’s a new status quo for him to shake-up when the time comes.
But the absence of Magneto and Wolverine sets this movie on a different track, which should hopefully help Marvel establish it with a new tone and approach. And of course, the addition of Obsession breakout Inde Navarrette as Rogue is a true casting coup. She’s one of the hottest young stars at the moment, and this gives her a big role in a Marvel blockbuster that could spin out to multiple sequels and appearances.
My guess is Marvel is trying to thread the needle in creating a X-Men movie that is familiar enough to what fans would expect, and fresh enough to put them on a path to do something new with the MCU take on the mutants. I was also encouraged by the hire of Jake Schreier to direct.
Though Thunderbolts didn’t light the box office on fire, it was a great movie — and showed he absolutely has the chops to make a great, team-based ensemble superhero movie. I can’t wait to see what he does here.
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