The X-Men are officially coming to the MCU. But which X-Men? There were many X-Men teams featured over the years. There were staples like Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Elliot Page’s Shadowcat. The X-Men team roster started to change a lot when we reached the era of James McAvoy as Professor X.
But now, we’re likely to see a new age of X-Men, with new actors and possibly new characters that we’ve never seen before. But there’s so little information floating around about the X-Men. All we have at this point are rumors and speculation. One can generally tell how the lineup looks for an X-Men team based on which story the movie will tell. But we don’t even know that yet.
All we’ve seen of the old X-Men in the canonical MCU is Patrick Stewart reprising his role in Doctor Strange 2 and a tiny little Easter egg from a newspaper headline in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Other than that, we know nothing. It’s not likely Patrick Stewart will continue to play Professor X simply because of his age, and James McAvoy “doesn’t miss” the role. We know Hugh Jackman stepped down from his iconic position; the hype surrounding his replacement is nearly infinite. And if Elliot Page was cast as Kitty Pryde once again, there is a narrative in which the X-Men could be used as a metaphor to defend trans rights. But Disney is unlikely to do something so brave. With so much up in the air, which X-Men will we see in their MCU reveal?
Will X-Men Alumni Return to Their Roles?
There are a few X-Men that are simply essential in telling a story. Though there are different stories throughout the X-Men universe, you usually get Professor X, Magneto, Wolverine, Cyclops, Mystique, and Beast. At least those are the mutants we’ve seen in almost every movie since 2000. Each of their roles is up for grabs because it’s been a long time since we’ve seen an X-Men movie and even longer since there’s been a successful one.
Out of the six listed, it’s tough to tell how each will be cast. Disney likes to keep previous actors in their roles as if they had always owned Marvel Universe, but the X-Men have changed a lot over the years. As stated, McAvoy no longer wants his role as Professor X. And if Hugh Jackman is too old for Wolverine, then Patrick Stewart is likely too old for Charles Xavier.
Michael Fassbender has been a consistent fan favorite as Magneto, but there’s a good sign that Disney is recasting both of these iconic roles. There has been some hype recently around Giancarlo Esposito for the character of Professor X. While the actor has stated that he would like to play the character, he also announced that he was in talks with Disney to play both Magneto and Doctor Doom. Right now, Esposito is our best lead on Professor X, but we know from him that Magneto is also up for grabs.
The role of Cyclops is just as contested as Wolverine. Fans have been photoshopping different actors into Cyclops costumes left and right. And Marvel hasn’t confirmed if they’re bringing Tye Sheridan back to reprise the role. Jennifer Lawrence is always a possibility as Mystique, but she’s previously stated that she isn’t so happy with playing the character. Most of the discomfort came from wearing the costume, but she isn’t a sure shot either.
Nicholas Hoult, who has played Beast in recent years, said he would love to join the MCU, but he hasn’t been officially cast either.
The X-Men Lineup We Want to See
One thing we can conclude is the MCU will probably retcon the previous movies as all having happened in an alternate universe. Where She-Hulk made a joke to fold Edward Norton as Hulk into the MCU, the X-Men timelines are a bit more complicated, and the MCU can start fresh this way.
This would probably be a better way to go for the current Marvel Universe and would give Disney a chance to make their own world instead of relying on the 20 years of restrictive canon established by the previous two generations of X-Men movies.
Of the comic book teams, the original X-Men is always a good standby for a team. It includes Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, and Iceman. Of course, this is a bit restrictive for a good selection of actors. Fans want to see a big expansion of the MCU. Another good option for X-Men teams is the Uncanny X-Men of the John Byrne/Chris Claremont feud. Despite the artists’ eventual disagreement and separation, the X-Men run they had together was a legendary classic.
Those in attendance are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Banshee, and Shadowcat. It’s a large team with enough X-Men to give new viewers a good picture of the X-Men. And it includes the classic Wolverine/Scott Summers fight over Jean Grey.
It would be incredible if the MCU did a New Mutants movie (comprised of Cannonball, Karma, Psyche, Sunspot, and Wolfsbane), but they’re less well-known than most mutant teams. Of course, we think any good X-Men team should have Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Storm, Cyclops, Wolverine, Shadowcat, Iceman, Gambit, and Rogue, just to get the most out of it for the fans.