20th Century Fox's X-Men movies focused heavily on Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse shifted focus to En Sabah Nur, but still kept the Master of Magnetism in the mix, and it wasn't until 2019's Dark Phoenix that Magneto took a backseat.
However, that left us with arguably the franchise's worst villain yet, Vuk, played by Jessica Chastain. Now, as Marvel Studios gears up to reboot the X-Men franchise, all eyes are on who the mutant team will square off with.
Currently, it's looking like Sebastian Shaw (and the Hellfire Club) and Mister Sinister are in the mix. Whether that means Magneto is being shelved remains to be seen, but we have a few intriguing updates from The Cosmic Circus to share with you today.
According to the site's Alex Perez, Marvel Studios is looking to "deviate away from the whole 'Magneto and the Brotherhood' trope and focus on other villains that haven’t been seen before." Sinister is, as expected, at "the top" of Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige's list, though what that means for those rumours Adam Driver is playing Shaw isn't clear.
Perez adds that the X-Men reboot is looking to avoid bringing in characters who were part of the Brotherhood in 2000, but posits that there's a chance we'll see Magneto "if they want to establish he exists."
The report also explains that the goal is to bring together the original five X-Men—Cyclops, Jean Grey, Angel, Beast, and Iceman—with "some additions" and "establish a coming-of-age story where these characters who have been in hiding due to fear of rejection or persecution are finally stepping out of the shadows to save the world and prove that not ALL mutants are bad."
Perez also believes there's a 100% chance we'll start seeing other mutants in upcoming MCU projects, similar to how Jean Grey's story was woven into Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
On a side note, The Hollywood Reporter has shared a piece about actors lobbying for roles in Jake Schreier's X-Men reboot and pointed out, "Inde Navarrette recently confirmed she’d met with X-Men director Jake Schreier after revealing Mystique is the mutant she’d most like to play, though rumor has also linked her to Rogue."
Is the trade simply acknowledging online chatter or adding some fuel to the fire that the breakout star of Obsession could be MCU-bound? Only time will tell on that front, as we're still expecting some kind of X-Men announcement at tomorrow's D23 event. Whether a full cast reveal is part of that remains hotly debated, so it might be wise to get your expectations in check.
X-Men is currently expected to be released in theaters in 2028.