Marvel Studios' long-awaited X-Men reboot is finally coming together, with three (possibly four) actors now confirmed to have joined the cast of director Jake Schreier's movie.
We are expecting a full cast announcement during D23 next weekend, but the trades have been fed a few morsels to get the hype train moving. Samara Weaving will play Emma Frost, and yesterday, we learned that Kit Connor has been cast as Cyclops. Adam Driver is believed to have signed on for an undisclosed role, but this has not been confirmed.
And, of course, Sadie Sink will return as Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Jean Grey.
According to Daniel Richtman, Marvel has chosen an actor to play Charles Xavier, but it is not Bill Skarsgård, Tom Pelphrey, or anyone else who has previously been rumored. Some internet grifters have latched onto this and are hinting that the studio plans to bring back James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as Xavier and Magneto.
Could it happen? Sure, but we really don't see Marvel deciding to muddy the waters and confuse cinemagoers like this.
Jeff Sneider has also shared some intriquing updates. It seems that both Drew Starkey and Cooper Hoffman were early contenders to play Scott Summers, but the runner-up behind Connor was actually Asa Butterfield (Hugo, Sex Education), who would surely have been viewed as an outside-the-box choice.
"There are rumors flying all over the place for X-Men as reps try to position their clients for roles, and I’m not so sure about those Cailee Spaeny and Tom Pelphrey rumors anymore, either. I’m getting the sense that both are old info that’s simply resurfacing. I don’t even know if Rogue is in the movie at this point. If she is, she may have a smaller role than some are expecting."
This would line up with what we've heard about the core team, which is said to consist of the original comic book crew (Cyclops, Beast, Jean Grey, Ice-Man and Angel). If accurate, we can see other characters, such as Rogue, Storm, and possibly Jubilee, being introduced later in the movie.
Sonny Lee Sung Jin (Beef) and Joanna Calo (The Bear) recently came aboard to write a new draft of Michael Lesslie's script.
Kevin Feige had the following to say about Marvel's plans for the X-Men shortly after SDCC.
"Acquiring the X-Men rights isn't just about... for example, Wolverine is an outstanding character, and we were able to team him up with Deadpool, which is great. But the X-Men are far more than just Wolverine, far more than the original team; fundamentally, it's a universe, a multi-stage saga. Much of that is what we're working towards."
"We’re constantly changing, constantly evolving, but having some guidance helps us act more purposefully, especially with X-Men—it’s already had 10 movies, some very, very good, some I think haven’t lived up to expectations—how do we plan the 'mutant saga' in a very grand way?"
"That being said, we have many more characters to explore in the future—the schedule is already booked until 2042, especially the X-Men," Feige added. "The X-Men have many unexplored characters from the Asia-Pacific region, particularly China, which we're very eager to explore. That's why I'm excited about the X-Men: we can show the world different types of heroes."