Marvel Studios was conspicuously mum about its forthcoming X-Men relaunch at July’s San Diego Comic-Con, but it more than made up for its silence on Friday night at the D23 Disney Entertainment Showcase.
Studio chief Kevin Feige revealed the bulk of the cast during the Honda Center presentation, giving us our first glimpse at the next generation of X-Men.
Photo: D23
The film’s release date was also confirmed as May 5, 2028. With that, let’s take a look at the cast!
X-Men Cast Announced at D23
Feige was joined by director Jake Schreier to reveal the following cast:
- Christopher Abbott as Charles Xavier
- Sadie Sink as Jean Grey
- Kit Connor as Scott Summers/Cyclops
- Samara Weaving as Emma Frost
- Maya Boyd as Storm
- Inde Navarette as Rogue
- Adam Driver as Mister Sinister
A few of these names were already known to those who track film development, or, in the case of Sink, those who saw Spider-Man: Brand New Day (which, given the box office, is most of humanity). She made her MCU debut as Jean Grey in the film, and she’s now set to be one of the pillars of Marvel’s Mutant Saga.
Photo Credit: Jay Maidment/Sony/Variety
Weaving’s addition to the cast as Emma Frost was reported in late July. Connor reportedly signed on as Scott Summers/Cyclops a week later.
All of these names are exciting, but Navarette, Boyd, and Driver are perhaps the most intriguing. Navarette is fresh off her breakout role as Nikki in Obsession, a true star-making turn for which she’s earned immense acclaim.
Boyd, meanwhile, is a relative unknown cinematically, instead making her name as a Broadway performer. Driver, perhaps best known to Disney fans as Star Wars antagonist Kylo Ren, is one of this generation’s more prolific actors, and getting him on board is a tremendous call.
The Cinematic History of Mutants
Photo: Fox
Though just now being folded into the MCU proper, the X-Men are no stranger to adaptation. Mutants have been the subject of 14 different features over the last three decades, in addition to several lauded animated series dating back to 1992.
20th Century Fox previously held the team’s film rights, launching its cinematic efforts with 2000’s X-Men. That film, despite taking some creative liberties with the source material, was generally well received, helping to usher in the comic book cinema phenomenon on which Marvel Studios would later build its empire.
Photo: Fox
Fox would produce an additional 11 mutant-centric films from 2003 to 2020, including a reboot tetralogy, an entire Wolverine trilogy, and a comedic Deadpool duology.
The Walt Disney Company procured the X-Men’s film rights in its 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox. The X-Men intellectual property, at least with regard to films, has since been in a bit of a holding pattern, with this D23 announcement being the most significant cinematic development regarding the team since the merger.
Photo: Marvel
Marvel Studios technically produced a mutant-adjacent film in the form of 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, though that project was more so a love letter to the Fox productions of old than it was the start of something new. That era will receive yet another sendoff later this year in Avengers: Doomsday, as several actors from the original Fox X-Men films are confirmed to appear.
Photo: Marvel Studios
We do appear to be finally reaching the end of Marvel’s cynical nostalgia wallowing, however, and this newly announced X-Men team is tangible evidence of something bright on the horizon.
Make sure to keep an eye on MickeyBlog for continued coverage of the latest news out of D23.
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