When you hear Adam Driver say the words “Mister Sinister”, suddenly it’s very real. For years, Marvel’s X-Men have existed on the edge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, waiting for their official arrival. Now the pieces are finally moving and Driver is stepping into the world as one of the franchise’s most intriguing villains.
Marvel Studios has revealed the main cast of its forthcoming X-Men film, with Driver playing Mister Sinister.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige made the announcement on Friday, August 14, during Disney’s D23 convention in Anaheim, California, where the first X-Men film produced as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe began to take shape.
Sadie Sink will return as Jean Grey, while Kit Connor has been cast as Scott Summers, aka Cyclops. Samara Weaving will play Emma Frost, Christopher Abbott will take on Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, Maya Boyd will appear as Storm and Inde Navarrette will play Rogue.
The cast joined Feige and director Jake Schreier on stage, while Driver appeared via video. Feige told the audience that most of the actors had only met one another backstage shortly before the announcement.
Driver, meanwhile, made it clear that his involvement with Marvel has been a long time coming.
“Kevin and I had been talking for years about my joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I think we finally found the perfect film,” Driver said.
He then joked that he was “very excited” to be playing Magneto before correcting himself.
“Even better, Nathaniel Milbury,” he announced, referring to one of the aliases used by Mister Sinister in Marvel Comics.
Sink has already made her debut as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, ending months of speculation about her role in that film.
The new X-Men movie will be directed by Schreier, who previously helmed Thunderbolts*. Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo, who also worked on Thunderbolts* as well as Netflix’s Beef, are writing the screenplay.
This will be the first standalone X-Men film produced by Marvel Studios, following Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, which brought the characters under the same umbrella as the MCU.
The film is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on May 5, 2028, following Avengers: Secret Wars in December 2027. Feige has said Secret Wars will serve as a “reboot” for the MCU.
Before that, several actors from Fox’s version of X-Men will reprise their roles in Avengers: Doomsday, including Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto, James Marsden as Cyclops, Kelsey Grammer as Beast and Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler.
A new Doomsday trailer arrived yesterday, and the film is set for release on December 18!
With Adam Driver as Mister Sinister, Sadie Sink as Jean Grey and a brand-new X-Men lineup finally taking shape, is Marvel about to deliver the X-Men movie you’ve been waiting for?
