The mutants have officially arrived. Marvel Studios capped its D23 presentation in Anaheim by finally unveiling the first major cast lineup for its long-awaited X-Men reboot, giving fans their clearest look yet at the team that will carry mutantkind into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige was joined onstage by director Jake Schreier and Sadie Sink, whose identity as Jean Grey was revealed in 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 D23 crowd. “We’re here to talk about the X-Men. Should we meet some more of the cast?”
Yes. Yes, we should.
One by one, Marvel brought out the new mutants.
Kit Connor will play Scott Summers, better known as Cyclops.
Christopher Abbott is Professor Charles Xavier.
Samara Weaving takes on Emma Frost.
Obsession breakout Inde Navarrette will play Rogue.
And Maya Boyd has been cast as Ororo Munroe, aka Storm.
Then Adam Driver appeared via video from Pinewood Studios with one final reveal.
“When Kevin told me to show up for X-Men, I assumed he meant on set,” Driver joked.
After noting that he and Feige had discussed a possible MCU role for years, Driver teased the audience by beginning another name before pulling back.
Instead, he announced himself as Nathaniel Milbury — one of the identities associated with longtime X-Men villain Mister Sinister. Multiple reports following the panel identified Driver’s character as Sinister.
That is a significant choice.
Rather than immediately rebuilding the franchise around Magneto as its central antagonist, Marvel appears ready to explore another major corner of X-Men mythology.
A younger generation of mutants
The casting also makes Marvel’s broader direction increasingly clear.
Rather than simply recreating the Fox films with new actors, Schreier’s movie appears positioned around a younger generation of X-Men still growing into their identities and relationships.
Connor’s Cyclops and Sink’s Jean Grey place one of the franchise’s defining relationships back near the center.
Weaving’s Emma Frost adds another powerful telepath, and one of the most morally complicated characters in X-Men history.
Navarrette’s Rogue gives Marvel a character whose ability to absorb another person’s memories and powers through touch has always made intimacy itself dangerous.
Boyd’s Storm introduces one of Marvel’s most iconic heroes and eventually one of the X-Men’s greatest leaders.
Abbott’s Xavier brings the mentor who will presumably try to hold all of those personalities together.
Then there’s Driver’s Mister Sinister, a geneticist whose obsession with mutant DNA, experimentation and evolution could give the movie a darker edge than another simple superheroes-versus-supervillain setup.
Marvel confirmed that additional casting announcements are still to come.
Which leaves one particularly large question hanging over the proceedings:
Where is Magneto? Wolverine? Kitty Pryde? Beast?
The internet immediately did what the internet does
Naturally, Marvel could barely finish introducing the cast before fans started debating it.
Navarrette’s casting as Rogue has generated some of the loudest discussion.
Part of the reaction appears to have less to do with Navarrette herself than with months of fan casting and online rumors. Cailee Spaeny had been heavily discussed as a potential Rogue, leading some fans to become attached to a casting decision Marvel had never actually announced.
Navarrette had also previously said she would be interested in playing Mystique after meeting with Schreier, making Rogue something of a surprise even for people following the casting rumors closely.
Online reaction has ranged from enthusiasm over her breakout work in Obsession to skepticism from fans with a very specific image of Rogue, particularly the Southern, larger-than-life version from the comics and X-Men: The Animated Series.
Boyd’s Storm has prompted its own discussion, largely because she is a less familiar screen presence than many of the other actors announced. But some early fan reaction has been enthusiastic about Marvel choosing a relative newcomer rather than another obvious star.
And this is where fandom can get a little ridiculous.
These actors have not shot the movie yet.
We haven’t seen costumes.
We haven’t seen performances.
We haven’t heard Navarrette deliver Rogue’s accent or watched Boyd command the weather.
Marvel fans have every right to debate casting, that’s half the fun, but declaring a performance dead on arrival before a frame has been seen feels particularly ironic for a franchise whose entire mythology revolves around fearing people before getting to know them.
Maybe give the mutants a minute.
Marvel finally gets its X-Men
Disney acquired 21st Century Fox in 2019, bringing the film rights to the X-Men back under the same corporate roof as Marvel Studios.
Since then, Marvel has slowly reintroduced mutant mythology into the MCU.
Patrick Stewart returned as Charles Xavier in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Hugh Jackman returned as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine. Several Fox-era X-Men are appearing again in Avengers: Doomsday.
And Sink’s Jean Grey finally brought a new-generation mutant directly into the MCU through Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
But Schreier’s film represents something different.
Marvel Studios is building its own X-Men.
Schreier comes to the project after directing Thunderbolts*, while Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo are writing the screenplay. The pair previously worked with Schreier on Thunderbolts* and Beef.
The untitled X-Men film opens exclusively in theaters May 5, 2028.
And after years of rumors, legacy cameos and multiverse teases, Marvel finally has its mutant class. Now comes the hard part.
Surviving the fans.
The Geek is a working screenwriter, director and screenwriting instructor.
