The Mutant Era is Here: Inside Marvel's Massive 2028 X-Men Cast Reveal

Courtesy of D23

The MCU is having a big summer so far. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is close to making $2 billion worldwide and is on its way to becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. A couple of new trailers for Avengers: Doomsday have been released. Future projects beyond Avengers: Secret Wars, such as Ghost Rider starring Ryan Gosling and Black Panther 3 starring David Jonsson, have been announced for 2028. D23 gave an even bigger announcement: the official cast for the MCU’s X-Men movie, which will be directed by Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier.

Before D23, it was already revealed in Spider-Man: Brand New Day that Sadie Sink was going to be the MCU’s Jean Grey. Sink is also rumored to be playing Grey in Avengers: Secret Wars. Sadie Sink is known for her role as Max Mayfield in Stranger Things and for playing Brendan Fraser’s estranged daughter in the 2022 movie The Whale. Also announced were Samara Weaving as Emma Frost and Kit Connor as Scott Summers/Cyclops. Samara Weaving is known for starring in the Ready or Not movies, and Kit Connor is known for voicing Brightbill in The Wild Robot.

D23 announced more cast members and the official release date for its upcoming X-Men movie.

Christopher Abbott will play Charles Xavier/Professor X in the MCU, becoming the third actor to play the character after Patrick Stewart (who will be returning as Charles in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday) and James McAvoy. Maya Boyd, known for being in Broadway plays such as & Juliet, will be playing Storm. Inde Navarrette, who is coming off success and praise for her performance in Obsession, will be playing Rogue. Adam Driver, who is known for playing Kylo Ren in the Star Wars series, will be playing the movie’s antagonist, Mr. Sinister. This will be Mr. Sinister’s first appearance in an X-Men movie. The upcoming X-Men movie will be coming out on May 5, 2028.

The MCU X-Men casting announcement is significant. Marvel wants to make a big statement, saying that after Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, they are not done yet. 2028 marks the start of a new era of the MCU, and it will be a big one between the new X-Men, Ghost Rider, and the third Black Panther movie. Ever since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in the late 2010s, fans have been waiting for a new X-Men cast. Yes, fans were excited to see legacy X-Men actors return in some MCU multiverse movies and are excited to see more of them in Avengers: Doomsday, but they also want a fresh start to the series. The X-Men are a big part of Marvel comics and Marvel’s legacy.

It’s still unknown if characters like Magneto, Beast, and other legacy X-Men characters will be in the upcoming movie and, if so, who will play them. The younger cast and the introduction of Mr. Sinister as the villain shows that Marvel is ready for a new start and to incorporate them into the bigger MCU.

What are your thoughts on the X-Men casting announcement? Let us know in the comments below.