Marvel chief Kevin Feige unveiled actors Adam Driver, Sadie Sink and Inde Navarrette for a new X-Men movie reboot on Friday at the D23 Disney fan convention in Anaheim, according to a report in Variety.
Sink, 24, famous for Stranger Things, has been cast as Jean Grey, a boundlessly powerful psychic and telekinetic mutant who at times assumes the nefarious alter ego Dark Phoenix. Driver, 42, an Oscar nominee, will play the villainous eugenicist Dr Nathaniel Essex, also known as Mister Sinister, a character never before portrayed in live-action cinema. Navarrette, 25, a breakout star in Obsession, will portray Rogue, a mutant who siphons energy from other people through physical contact.
Christopher Abbott, 40, known for Girls, will feature as Charles Xavier, the wheelchair-bound psychic who forms the mutant team as Professor X. Kit Connor, 22, star of Heartstopper, has been cast as Scott Summers, known as Cyclops because uncontrollable lasers shoot from his eyes unless he wears special sunglasses at all times.
Samara Weaving will play Emma Frost, a psychic mutant who can transform into diamond form. Maya Boyd will feature as Storm, the weather-controlling mutant previously portrayed by Halle Berry in the original cast.
New Direction and Release Details
Director Jake Schreier, whose previous work includes Thunderbolts*, will direct the new X-Men reboot. Marvel has scheduled the film for theatrical release on May 5, 2028.
The original 2000 film X-Men, directed by Bryan Singer, dramatically expanded the global popularity of the comic book franchise. Famke Janssen originally played Jean Grey alongside Hugh Jackman, who immortalized the role of Wolverine, while Anna Paquin portrayed Rogue in the 2000 movie.
Original Movie Franchise Legacy
In the 2000 film, Patrick Stewart played Professor X opposite Ian McKellen as his nemesis Erik Lehnsherr, whose ability to manipulate metal earned him the name Magneto. James Marsden starred as Cyclops, who was locked in a love triangle involving Wolverine and Jean Grey.
The original movie resulted in two sequels: X2: X-Men United in 2003, also directed by Singer, and X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006, directed by Brett Ratner. The original trilogy also featured Rebecca Romijn as the shape-shifter Mystique, Kelsey Grammer as Beast and Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler.
Prequel Films and Upcoming MCU Crossovers
In 2011, the franchise was revived with a set of prequel films featuring a younger cast, beginning with director Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class. James McAvoy starred as Professor X, alongside Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, January Jones as Emma Frost and Kevin Bacon as the antagonistic Sebastian Shaw.
The 2014 follow-up film X-Men: Days of Future Past brought together the original and prequel casts in a time-travel plot that proved popular with fans. Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner joined the cast for the 2019 film Dark Phoenix, which emerged as a titanic flop at the box office.
Jackman became an international household name playing Wolverine and most recently reprised the role in the 2024 film Deadpool & Wolverine, starring Ryan Reynolds in his final blockbuster before the It Ends with Us scandal. Several original 2000 cast members, including Jackman, Stewart, McKellen, Romijn, Marsden, Grammer and Cumming, will appear in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film Avengers: Doomsday, starring Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom.
