In spite of the lackluster X-Men ‘97 finale, X-Men fans still had the MCU cast announcements to look forward to this weekend and they did not disappoint. The remaining X-Men casting was highly anticipated after Jean Grey’s (Sadie Sink) debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the announcement of Samara Weaving in the role of Emma Frost. Amidst many rumors and speculation, D23 finally gave us our X-Men for the upcoming 2028 film.
By far the most exciting cast announcement was Maya Boyd as Ororo Monroe, also known as Storm. One of the most powerful mutants and an iconic leader of the X-Men, Storm is an extremely important member of the X-Men. Boyd has a BFA in Musical Theater from the University of Michigan and made her Broadway debut in & Juliet in 2022. While we haven’t seen much of her in on-screen performances, her history in theater is more than promising.
With Sink and Weaving as Jean and Emma, it was no surprise that they cast a total heartthrob as Cyclops. Kit Connor gained massive traction after the hit show Heartstopper, but also showed a more serious side in Warfare. It’s very likely that Emma Frost will start out as a hero instead of with her villainous origins, so fans can look forward to this iconic love triangle instead of the overdone Scott/Jean/Wolverine one.
The cast also contains two Girls alums, Adam Driver as Mr. Sinister and Christopher Abbott as Charles Xavier. Both have quite impressive filmographies, although it’ll be interesting to see Driver play a villain with more dramatic flare than Kylo Ren. Abbott doesn’t exactly have the Professor X look just yet, but his age compared to Sink’s and Boyd’s seems to imply they’re attempting a more modern take on the X-Men.
Recent breakout star Inde Navarette from Obsession was announced as Rogue, despite many rumors that she’d be playing Mystique. Many fans (including myself) had speculated that Priscilla star Cailee Spaeny would be taking up that mantle. Navarette is a promising actress and her performance as Nikki was no small feat, but it’s hard to imagine her as any X-Man. Even when she was rumored to be Mystique, it seemed unlikely that she’d fit in among this group. Then again, she’s newer to the scene and might have more to give us than we know.
Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier will be directing this film, set to come out in May 2028. Thunderbolts was a totally killer team film, only limited by its short runtime. With the success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, hopefully Marvel Studios has learned that audiences want to see longer movies and get more time to emotionally invest in the characters. Schreier is sure to deliver a great film regardless, especially with this already stacked cast that still has yet to fill out.
