Sadie Sink, Inde Navarrette and Samara Weaving are stepping into iconic mutant roles as Marvel builds its next generation of X-Men
Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty (3)
NEED TO KNOW
- Marvel announced the new actors joining the X-Men cast during their presentation at D23
- Sadie Sink, Kit Connor and Samara Weaving have been cast as Jean Grey, Cyclops and Emma Frost in Marvel’s X-Men reboot
- Marvel has teased connections to past X-Men films, with returning stars appearing in upcoming MCU projects like Avengers: Doomsday
Marvel’s next generation of X-Men is starting to take shape, and D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event offered a closer look at what’s next for the mutants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While Sadie Sink‘s role as Jean Grey was revealed in July’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Marvel has stayed mum about the other mutants rounding out the X-Men crew. However, Deadline reported ahead of D23 that Kit Connor will take on the role of Scott Summers/Cyclops, while Samara Weaving will play Emma Frost.
Marvel’s Kevin Feige confirmed Sink, Connor and Weaving’s roles. He also introduced Maya Boyd as Storm, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, Christopher Abbott as Professor X and director Jake Schreier.
Feige also announced that Adam Driver will finally be joining the MCU as the X-Men villain Mister Sinister. Driver was not at D23 in person, but instead joined via video from a cavernous film studio.
“Kevin and I have been talking for years about me joining the MCU,” Driver said. “Now I feel like we’ve found the perfect film, at the perfect film, with characters I care deeply about.”
Credit: Jesse Grant/Getty
The new cast marks a new chapter for characters who have already been played by some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Famke Janssen, Sophie Turner, James Marsden, Tye Sheridan and January Jones.
The X-Men first arrived on the big screen with Bryan Singer‘s X-Men in 2000, introducing audiences to Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine, Patrick Stewart‘s Professor X, Ian McKellen‘s Magneto, Marsden’s Cyclops, Halle Berry‘s Storm, Janssen’s Jean Grey, Anna Paquin‘s Rogue and Rebecca Romijn‘s Mystique.
The franchise expanded with X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand before branching into prequels, Wolverine spinoffs, the Deadpool movies and films including Logan.
Marvel has since started bringing elements of the previous X-Men movies into the MCU. Stewart, 86, returned as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, while Kelsey Grammer reprised Beast in The Marvels. Deadpool & Wolverine also reunited Ryan Reynolds‘ Deadpool with Jackman’s Wolverine while embracing the history of the Fox-era Marvel movies.
That connection is expected to continue with Avengers: Doomsday, which features several returning stars from the earlier X-Men movies, including Grammer, 71, Marsden, 52, and Romijn, 53. They also reunited at 2026’s San Diego Comic-Con ahead of their return to the franchise.
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D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event takes place Aug. 14-16, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif., bringing Disney fans together for a weekend filled with news, previews and plenty of familiar faces.
The new X-Men film is scheduled to hit theaters on May 5, 2028.
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