The X-Men have officially assembled—or at least most of them have. During Marvel Studios’ D23 presentation, Kevin Feige revealed the principal cast of the studio’s long-awaited “X-Men” reboot and confirmed that the film will open in theaters on May 5, 2028.
Christopher Abbott will play Professor Charles Xavier, Inde Navarrette has been cast as Rogue, Maya Boyd will portray Ororo Munroe/Storm, and Adam Driver will play the mutant geneticist Nathaniel Essex, better known as Mister Sinister, who is apparently operating under the alias Nathaniel Milbury in the film.
They join the previously reported Kit Connor as Scott Summers/Cyclops and Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, along with Sadie Sink, who will reprise her role as Jean Grey following her introduction in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
Sink joined Feige and director Jake Schreier onstage to announce the ensemble and expressed relief at finally being able to speak openly about playing Jean. “It is so wonderful to be here and to finally be able to talk about this character after months of speculation,” Sink said.
The newly assembled actors apparently had little time to become acquainted before facing the D23 audience. “They just met backstage for the very first time,” Feige said, adding that Marvel has not yet revealed the film’s complete cast. That leaves several major roles—including Magneto, Beast, Mystique, and Wolverine—still unaccounted for.
Abbott inherits Professor X from Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy, while Driver will finally bring one of the X-Men’s most enduring villains into a live-action feature. Driver was unable to attend D23 in person, instead appearing through a video recorded on an otherwise empty Pinewood Studios soundstage.
“When Kevin told me to show up for ‘X-Men,’ I assumed he meant on set,” Driver joked. “So instead of being there in California, I’m here at Pinewood on this very lonely soundstage.” Driver then revealed that his conversations with Marvel had been unfolding for some time before teasing the audience with the possibility that he might be playing another famous mutant.
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“Kevin and I have been talking for years about maybe joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” Driver explained. “And I think we finally found the perfect film at the perfect time. So I’m very excited to be playing Mag—nope. Even better. Nathaniel Milbury. So I’ll be right here, waiting for everybody to show up.”
Driver’s casting marks his first major superhero role following his run as Kylo Ren in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy. Mister Sinister’s arrival has also been a particularly long time coming. The character was teased through the Essex Corporation in the post-credits scene of “X-Men: Apocalypse,” but Fox’s shifting franchise plans prevented him from becoming its next major antagonist. Subsequent films included additional references to Essex without ever properly introducing the villain.
Navarrette broke out with her performance in Netflix’s “Obsession,” following earlier roles in “Superman & Lois” and “13 Reasons Why.” The actress had previously confirmed that she met with Schreier about the film, although she initially expressed interest in playing Mystique. Marvel ultimately found another major mutant role for her in Rogue, previously played by Anna Paquin in Fox’s original films.
Boyd, an actress and recording artist who appeared on “America’s Got Talent” before starring on Broadway in “& Juliet,” will inherit Storm from Halle Berry and Alexandra Shipp. Her casting continues Marvel’s emphasis on a younger team, with Connor’s Cyclops, Navarrette’s Rogue, and Boyd’s Storm positioned alongside Sink’s Jean Grey.
Schreier earned some of Marvel’s strongest recent reviews with “Thunderbolts*,” and “X-Men” will place him in charge of what is expected to become one of the MCU’s central franchises following “Avengers: Secret Wars.” The screenplay comes from “Beef” creator Lee Sung Jin, “The Bear” writer Joanna Calo, and “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” screenwriter Michael Lesslie.
The film will mark the first full “X-Men” feature produced by Marvel Studios since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and reclaimed the screen rights to the characters. Marvel has gradually prepared the ground through mutant appearances across the MCU, the revival of “X-Men ’97,” and the return of several Fox-era stars in “Avengers: Doomsday.”
Schreier’s film represents a generational reset rather than another multiversal reunion. Feige previously described “Secret Wars” as the gateway to “a new age of mutants and of the X-Men,” positioning the team as one of the foundations of Marvel’s post-Multiverse Saga plans. “X-Men” opens in theaters on May 5, 2028.
