For many years, the X-Men were under the 20th Century Fox umbrella while Disney held the rights to most other Marvel characters. As a result, Earth's Mightiest Heroes couldn't cross paths with any mutants on the big screen in any of the big crossovers, but the streak is finally coming to an end. Now that Disney has purchased 20th Century Fox, these two iconic groups of heroes will come together in the Marvel Cinematic Universe courtesy of Avengers: Doomsday. Better yet, the mutants are bound to steal the spotlight for many years to come afterward.
Marvel has officially announced that Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier will helm an X-Men movie that's expected to come our way in 2028. Audiences are about to watch a new generation of mutants take over the next MCU saga soon, and it has been rumored that some of them will make their cinematic debuts as soon as Avengers: Secret Wars, which will come our way in 2027. With so little time left to watch a new version of the X-Men jump into action, it shouldn't be long before Marvel announces its new cast. Better yet, one of these reveals may have come our way ahead of time.
Patrick Wilson is in negotiations to play Professor X, reports say
According to The Beyond Reporter, Patrick Wilson is in negotiations with Marvel to portray the role of Professor X in the MCU. Additionally, the official announcement could come during this year's San Diego Comic-Con, which is slated to take place from July 23 to 26. The report also reveals that filming for the X-Men movie will start in late 2026, implying we should also get casting news for other iconic mutants soon.
Patrick Wilson is no stranger to the superhero world or big cinematic franchises. He brought Nite Owl to life in Zack Snyder's Watchmen, became the ruthless Ocean Master in Aquaman, and plays Ed Warren in the Conjuring cinematic universe. As such, he'd be a perfect fit for a big, established franchise like the MCU.
After missing out on SDCC 2025, it's clear Marvel wants to make a big, triumphant return to its iconic Hall H panel later this month. The superhero giant is heavily speculated to publicly release the first Avengers: Doomsday trailer during the event and reveal Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man is in the movie. Casting news about the third season of Daredevil: Born Again is also expected at the event, since set pictures have already revealed that both Finn Jones' Danny Rand and Elodie Yung's Elektra will be back in action. To top things off, the superhero giant could also reveal its next generation of X-Men there as well.
It had been previously reported that Peter Claffey, who is better known for portraying Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, will be Beast in the MCU. Furthermore, I Love LA's Odessa A'Zion is being eyed to play Rogue. Obsession star Indie Navarrette also revealed that she would like to join the MCU and that she has met with X-Men director Jake Schreier. Besides, it's all but confirmed that Sadie Sink will make her MCU debut as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The X-Men are bound to be one of the biggest pillars in the next MCU phase, along with the supernatural and cosmic characters. That's why the superhero giant is looking to cast new, younger faces to bring these iconic heroes to life and play them for years to come. But before this new era of characters jumps onto the big screen, we'll see variants of the X-Men from the Fox universe steal the spotlight in Avengers: Doomsday. To top things off, X-Men '97 is currently making waves for its fantastic second season, and the release of the highly anticipated Marvel's Wolverine video game is just around the corner.
There's no denying it: it's a great time to be an X-Men fan.
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