The X-Men have officially assembled. During Marvel Studios’ D23 presentation tonight, Kevin Feige revealed the principal cast of “X-Men,” director Jake Schreier’s long-awaited reboot of Marvel’s mutant franchise, and confirmed that the film will open in theaters on May 5, 2028.
Kit Connor will play Scott Summers/Cyclops, Christopher Abbott will take over as Professor Charles Xavier, Samara Weaving has been cast as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette will play Rogue, Maya Boyd will portray Ororo Munroe/Storm, and Adam Driver will play the film’s antagonist, Nathaniel Essex, better known as Mister Sinister.
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Abbott inherits a role previously played by 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’s casting also marks his first major superhero role following his run as Kylo Ren in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy.
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.
Boyd, an actress and recording artist who previously appeared on “America’s Got Talent,” 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 Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey, who was introduced in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
Weaving, meanwhile, will become the first actress to play Emma Frost in a major live-action role since January Jones portrayed the telepathic mutant in “X-Men: First Class.” The character previously appeared in 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” where Tahyna MacManus played her.
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 film is expected to enter production in 2027.
The reboot has been in development for several years. “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” screenwriter Michael Lesslie was initially hired to tackle the screenplay, while “Beef” creator Lee Sung Jin and “The Bear” writer Joanna Calo were subsequently brought aboard to work on its latest iteration.
Mister Sinister’s arrival has 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 the next major antagonist. Subsequent films included additional references to Essex without ever introducing Nathaniel Essex himself.
The 2028 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.
