The MCU’s X-Men have mostly only been hinted at thus far. There are some characters who are ambiguous as to their mutant status, and others who have been revealed and will undoubtedly be part of the team, such as Jean Grey. But all of this was happening with the actual X-Men reboot movie to put them in the Marvel Cinematic Universe up in the air.
The movie had been announced, but that doesn’t mean anything. Blade was announced. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was announced, and it turned into Doomsday. Wonder-Man was renewed for a second season before being cancelled. Armor Wars was scrapped outright.
So, the fact that the untitled X-Men movie was announced meant nothing, especially since it was announced seven years ago. Lately, though, there’s been life, including a director attached. Now, the biggest casting domino (Cyclops) has fallen, and Marvel’s officially put the film on the calendar.
MCU X-Men Movie Finally Casts Cyclops
There has been an incredible amount of discourse surrounding who should play Cyclops in the MCU. Fan theories were thrown around, and Cooper Hoffman even said he’d love to play the character after getting wind of said rumors. Some fans were particularly harsh about that.
It kicked into overdrive with the announcement that Samara Weaving would be playing Emma Frost and the revelation that (SPOILERS FOR SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY) Sadie Sink was playing notable X-Men team member Jean Grey.
Fortunately, the discourse is over. It’s not going to be Hoffman, much to the joy of some of the angstier fans on the internet. The role has reportedly been given to Kit Connor after meeting with Marvel and director Jake Schreier, who helmed Thunderbolts just last year. Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear co-creator Joanna Calo will write the script.
Deadline reports that this transpired much like the Weaving casting as Emma Frost. Multiple candidates came forward and met with Schreier and company before she landed the job. Multiple candidates for Cyclops came forward before 22-year-old Kit Connor was given the role.
This will be the third iteration of the character. The first version was played in FOX’s universe in the 2000s by James Marsden, who is returning along with Sir Ian McKellan (Magneto) and Patrick Stewart (Professor X) in Doomsday. Tye Sheridan took the role for the 2010s reboot at FOX before the Disney merger.
X-Men Gets Spot on MCU Calendar
Not only did a major piece of casting news finally drop for the MCU’s X-Men reboot, but the film officially got a spot on the calendar. There’s truly no going back now. The Fantastic Four joined the MCU last summer with First Steps and are set to be a starring team moving forward, and the mutant team appears poised to join them on May 5, 2028, according to Variety.
That makes it the first film in Phase Seven, kicking off what has been rumored to be a soft reset for the MCU. The X-Men movie will be followed by Ryan Gosling’s Ghost Rider on July 28, and then Black Panther III from Ryan Coogler and starring David Jonsson is set for December 15.
That means that Avengers: Secret Wars has to come at some point between December 18, 2026 (the release date for Avengers Doomsday) and May 5. Given how Marvel will likely want to space it out a little bit, we can expect it in the summer blockbuster swing (May-July) in 2027.
This may seem like a lot, and 2028 is certainly stacked with Marvel movies. However, it is still well off the pace they were working at in the immediate aftermath of Endgame in 2019. Starting with The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July 2025, there will only be seven MCU movies spanning three and a half years.
Marvel has seemingly learned its lesson, although time will truly tell. Nevertheless, things are really taking shape for the MCU X-Men reboot that still doesn’t have its own title (unless they’re just going to call it X-Men like the 2000 film).
