Last night (August 14) at the D23 Expo in California, Marvel did the thing. That thing being introducing the cast of 2028’s X-Men reboot (revival? reimagining?), including the previously announced Sadie Sink as — spoilers, I guess — Jean Grey from Spider-Man: Brand New Day. And joining Jean are multiple new actors, including a few surprises.
Directed by Jake Schreier, the movie is as yet untitled (it’s not just called X-Men, though it probably will end up being some variation on that), and will hit theaters on May 5, 2028. That adds a third Marvel movie into the year post-Avengers: Secret Wars, with Ghost Rider hitting some time in 2028, and Black Panther III on December 15, 2028. So, back to business as usual for the studio.
But what you want to know is who else is in the cast. Kit Conner was officially announced as Scott Summers, alongside Samara Weaving as Emma Frost. Meanwhile, some fun surprises were rolled out: Christopher Abbott is Professor Charles Xavier, Inde Navarette is Rogue, and Maya Boyd is Storm. The last surprise, via video recording, is that Adam Driver is in the cast as Nathaniel Milbury.
…Who is that, you ask? In shades of John Harrison in Star Trek: Into Darkness, that’s the villain/mad geneticist Mr. Sinister. He’s usually known as Nathaniel Essex, but has a number of aliases throughout his very, very long life, including Milbury. Why they’re being cheeky about it when everyone will know exactly who he is, who is to say?
That all said, this is a pretty great young cast for the new movie, so let’s break down who they are and where you might know them from.
Sadie Sink As Jean Grey
Sadie Sink you may know from a little movie called Spider-Man: Brand New Day, or from her role as Max on Netflix’s mega-hit Stranger Things. We’ve already gotten a taste of her take on Jean, and imo she was excellent in the role. It’s a very different sort o Jean Grey, for — presumably — a very different sort of movie. So any preconceived notions of the characters should probably be tossed out the window.
Kit Conner As Scott Summer/Cyclops
Conner starred in the lovely Heartstopper on Netflix, and because his romantic interest there was Joe Locke — who plays Wiccan in the MCU — he’s been a long-time favorite to play Hulkling. Not so! He’s Scott! Conner is an earnest charm-bomb on Heartstopper, but you can just tell from his grim, serious expression above that he’ll nail the stick-in-the-mud Scott Summers.
Christopher Abbott As Professor Charles Xavier
Our first “huh!” of the cast list, Abbott has had a ton of roles, though may be best known as Charlie from HBO’s Girls, making this a weird reunion movie with Adam Driver (Lena Dunham as Magneto, perhaps?). He’s a Broadway regular, though on screen you may have seen his as the titular role in the recent Wolf Man, or as The Foreigner in Kraven the Hunter. He’s a good actor, but an odd choice for Xavier (even without the hair).
Samara Weaving As Emma Frost
Meanwhile, in “perfect casting is perfect,” Samara Weaving, as you can see above, is Emma Frost. Weaving has appeared previously in Ready or Not and its sequel, a brief kill in Scream VI, and recently in Over Your Dead Body. Weaving is beloved by fans, and will crush the ice queen herself, no doubt.
Inde Navarette As Rogue
Navarette has been talking up playing Mystique, which is a neat swerve to her being cast as Rogue. You definitely know her as Freaky Nikki from the mega-hit Obsession, though she was also a series regular on The CW’s punch-above-its-weight Superman & Lois. As someone who said “you know who would be good as Rogue? Inde Navarette” a few months ago, I’m personally feeling good about this choice. It also gets back to how the MCU used to be cast, with actors in the midst of a big breakout taking on the role, versus Movie Stars deigning to be in the franchise.
Maya Boyd As Storm
Speaking of “breaking out,” Storm is the 23 year old Boyd’s first film role. She’s also a Broadway powerhouse (paired with Abbott, and Sink, who also recently Broadway’d) from & Juliet, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and Merrily We Roll Along. And she’s definitely giving the right Goddess attitude in the picture above, but as a performer in a superhero movie, this is an intriguing swerve.
Adam Driver As Nathaniel Milbury, AKA Mr. Sinister
Last but not least, you’ve got Driver as Mr. Sinister (sorry, Marvel, I am not playing your games). Driver has appeared as Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Marriage Story, Inside Llewyn Davis, Megalopolis and so many more. As mentioned earlier, he was also in Girls. What will Driver bring to Mr. Sinister? His drive, of course. Get ready for an epic villain, though we’ll see if he has the red diamond on his forehead.
Here’s Disney’s official press release language about the movie:
Marvel Studios’ showcase presentation concluded on an electrifying note as Feige was joined onstage by Sadie Sink, who debuted as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and director Jake Schreier (Thunderbolts*), to discuss the all-new X-Men film in development. The trio then welcomed Sink’s new castmates to the stage: Kit Connor (Heartstopper) as Scott Summers, Christopher Abbott (Catch-22) as Professor Charles Xavier, Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette (Obsession) as Rogue, and Maya Boyd (& Juliet) as Storm. In a special video recording, Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) announced that he will play Nathaniel Milbury. The untitled X-Men film will be released exclusively in theaters May 5, 2028.
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