CASTING CALL: Marvel Studios Presents THE UNCANNY X-MEN

CASTING CALL: Marvel Studios Presents THE UNCANNY X-MEN

Now that the X-Men are set to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, let's take a look at the potential for a new X-Men movie series by recasting the iconic mutants for their inevitable MCU reboot!

Editorial Opinion
By ConanLibrarian - Dec 14, 2017 10:12 AM EST
Filed Under: Marvel Studios

WHEW, WHAT A DAMN DAY TO BE ALIVE...

OKAY, HERE GOES...

My preferred way to introduce the X-Men into the MCU is to have them already established as a team that has been together for at least a decade, operating in the shadows, with Professor Xavier's school having been in operation for a long while. Similar to where they are when you first meet them in the 1992 animated series. Everybody pretty much understands their origin, so I don't really see a need for another origin story movie. I like the idea of them being really mysterious and secret, and having existed alongside the Avengers and everyone else for years, perhaps even predating them. Professor Xavier, let's say, has been keeping the existence of mutants hidden from public knowledge the entire time using Cerebro. Works for me. Anyway, on to the fun part...

My favorite lineup of the X-Men is from the Chris Claremont late 70's-early 80's Uncanny X-Men comics. Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Jean Grey, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde. That's the way I'd go with it. Have the original team history and everything, with Angel, Beast, and Iceman existing out there in the MCU ether, along with Havok, Polaris, Banshee, Sunfire, etc, but for the purposes of this first movie, I'd like it to be the heart-and-soul team from the late 70's, with Kitty Pryde as our young eyes being introduced into the weird new world of mutants in the MCU. So, with that in mind...

CYCLOPS/SCOTT SUMMERS - ARMIE HAMMER

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This one seems like a no-brainer to me. I've been reading and collecting X-Men comics for 30+ years, and I own every Uncanny X-Men book printed from 1978 to 2010. Cyclops has never been given his proper due in the X-Men films, and it's time to finally put the leader in the lead. Cyclops is a pure-hearted boyscout. A strategic leader and field general. He's the Captain America of the X-Men. He can be an asshole when he has to be, but he's always got the best interests of the team at heart. The X-Men's mission comes first. Armie Hammer is tall, good-looking, has a leading man quality, and an air of dickishness to him, with just enough likability to pull it off. Cyclops is restrained, but he doesn't put up with any shit either. Armie is 31 years old, so he's the ideal age to be a young enough, but experienced enough leader for my ideal lineup.

WOLVERINE/LOGAN - SCOTT EASTWOOD

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This one's a little tougher. I had it narrowed down to three choices for Logan: Eastwood, Tom Hardy, and Dustin Clare. I ultimately chose Eastwood because the Logan I grew up with was modeled after his father Clint Eastwood, even to the point of Marvel damn near using his likeness in the comics. Who is more modeled after CLint Eastwood than his son? I liked Tom Hardy, but I figure he's got the Venom thing, and he's just a little TOO obvious. Scott Eastwood has also mentioned wanting to replace Hugh Jackman after Hugh hung the mutton chops up. He's 31 years old, same as Armie Hammer, and he's 5'10-5'11, so not quite as short as the Wolverine from the comics, but he would still have to look up at Armie's 6'5 frame to get in his face when Wolverine and Cyclops have their unavoidable altercations. The visual by itself makes me like the idea of casting him. I definitely am not dead set on this one, but I like it.

STORM/ORORO MUNROE - MELANIE LIBURD



Storm is another character that has been tragically miscast and underappreciated by Fox over the years. Ororo Munroe is the second in command in the field, and has been one of the leaders of the X-Men for decades, yet she has never been given her due on the big screen. Ororo is regal, stoic, very wise and very matter of fact. Melanie Liburd is an English actress you may have seen in Game of Thrones, Dark Matter, Gypsy, etc that exudes the kind of strength needed to portray someone as almost royal as Storm is. And, just once, I'd like to hear Ororo call out to Mother Nature to summon some harsh-ass weather in the movies. Storm needs to be HOLLERIN' about some shit. She's weird as hell, but she makes it sound cool.

JEAN GREY - OLIVIA WILDE

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Jean Grey's power is all mental, so you need someone with power in her eyes. Nobody has more power in her eyes than Olivia Wilde. Nobody. Jeez, I could stare into those eyes all day. Good lord. 

Ok, one more time...

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Good night, nurse. 

AHEM! Moving on...

NIGHTCRAWLER/KURT WAGNER - MATTHEW BEARD

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Nightcrawler is yet another character that could have been so much more than he was. With the exception of the opening scene at the White House in X2, Kurt really hasn't gotten a ton of attention in the X-Men movies. One of my favorite things about Nightcrawler was always his friendship with Wolverine. I'd like to see that family relationship given some time to help flesh out ALL the characters, not just the two or three main ones. I liked Matthew Beard in Imitation Game and I think he'd give Kurt Wagner some much-needed depth and personality. 

COLOSSUS/PIOTR RASPUTIN - 

This one is extremely tough to cast. There aren't enough big giant actors out there who can pull off a Russian accent and the calm voice of reason/quiet artistic side of Colossus, while still giving you the physically imposing, insanely strong metal-skinned behemoth. I feel like this one will take a good Russian or Eastern European actor whose size in human form can be augmented digitally, much in the way Ving Rhames as Charlie-27 was in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, and a completely motion capture CGI model while in his metal Colossus form. Open to suggestion here for sure. I don't want to recycle the Deadpool version, though. He was fine, but I think we can do better.

KITTY PRYDE/SHADOWCAT - MILLIE BOBBY BROWN

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I've seen this casting bandies about since Stranger Things came out, and I agree. She's perfect. I want Kitty to be the audience's introduction to the X-Men, much the way that Jubilee was in the animated series and Rogue was in the first movie. Makes sense to me.

And finally, the Professor...

PROFESSOR X/CHARLES XAVIER - MARK STRONG

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It's going to be hard to ever top Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier, that much is unavoidable. But I feel like Mark Strong is a great choice for an Xavier who is in his mid-to-late 50's (Strong is 54, only 4 years younger than Patrick Stewart was when he first signed on for the role in 1998), and I feel Strong has an inner intensity and wisdom that he conveys very well through his eyes. I also like the idea of having Xavier be a generation older than the rest of the team, but not so old that he's like a grandfather to them. So Mark Strong is my choice.

That's all I'll do for today. Just the good guys for the first movie. Feel free to offer your ideas, and, no matter what you think of my choices, let's all get drunk as shit and celebrate this momentous occasion!

ash williams rage GIF by Ash vs Evil Dead

















 

 

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TheRealTomServo
TheRealTomServo - 12/14/2017, 11:17 AM
Eh. I'd much rather the MCU X-Men be a younger crew. It provides more storytelling possibilities and gives the cast time to grow into their roles.
Forthas
Forthas - 12/14/2017, 11:33 AM
The opportunities are endless

FALCON VS. VULTURE



HULK VS THING



DR. STRANGE VS THE “REAL” MANDARIN (Here fancast with actor Mehesh Jadu)



HUMAN TORCH VS. ICEMAN



MAN-THING VS. GROOT



DR. DOOM VS. IRON MAN



EMMA FROST VS. JEAN GREY



WOLVERINE VS BLACK PANTHER



SCARLET WITCH VS. INVISIBLE GIRL



THOR VS RONAN



BEAST VS SABRETOOTH
SimplyAz
SimplyAz - 12/16/2017, 10:31 AM
@Forthas -

Mahesh Jadu could be a good Simon Baz. Interestingly you pitted him against Dr Strange and Jadu is the Hindi/Urdu word for magic.
Forthas
Forthas - 12/16/2017, 10:56 AM
@SimplyAz - Simon Baz would be good. Never knew that about the name Jadu. maybe it is something about how he looks that screams magic!
RedSheep
RedSheep - 12/15/2017, 12:47 AM
While I want the school to be established, I also want the original 5 to be the focus.

Perhaps the original 5 can be seen like upperclassman (age range mid to late-20s). They can be the main group we focus on. Maybe they are the only ones who actually have battle experience because they know how to control their powers the best.

The other new members like Storm, Nightcrawler, and Kitty can still exist but remain as side characters (fellow classmates) for now and don't take part in the action. Then later bring them in slowly and expand their importance in the sequels.

I like the Milly Bobby-Brown casting and her role as the eyes of the audience. I'm guessing it's a popular fancast based on how you wrote it, but it's the first I've heard of it. I also like Armie Hammer as Cyclops, and I feel he can play the boy scout hero who's also an excellent strategist and leader. He could probably even play the douchey side of Scott as well.

I definitely don't want Wolvie making an appearance in the first one, though. I don't want him stealing all the attention. Even if they keep his role small, he will still be what people talk about. It's a petty reason, I know.
YaBoyRD
YaBoyRD - 12/15/2017, 10:21 AM
Great choices in general. But if we have to have Wolverine again, can we please find a short Wolverine?

The fact that we haven't seen a short actor onscreen who feels right for the role doesn't mean there isn't one out there... casting calls can do a lot, and the actors we already know represent about 0.1% of all the actors on the planet. While many movie actors are mostly pretty faces, better actors are often lesser-known.

Shorter, semi-rugged-looking actors who are already known (caveat - some of them, I don't know their work):

Scott Cann (5'5") - Ocean's Eleven
Jason Marsden (5'4") - I don't know if he is a good actor.
Devon Murray (5'3") - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Brad Allen (5'5") - Kingsmen
Seth Green (5'4") - has played a wolfman in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, can do 'serious guy' eyebrow glances.

I know this height thing isn't much of an issue to most folks... but having a tough short guy hero means a lot to me and to a lot of other short guys. One of the great things about the Marvel Universe, especially the X-Men Universe, is that they tend to represent many body shapes and sizes. It isn't only that Wolverine is shorter than the other guys, he's shorter than half the women, too.

Most of the male heroes we see on screen are around 6' tall... or under 4' and CGI (much respect to Peter Dinklage, though).

A Wolverine is a small, tough, fearless animal. It would be nice to have the character be true to the namesake.

NO OFFENSE MEANT TO HUGH JACKMAN'S WOLVERINE... Mr. Jackman played Wolverine with his heart and soul.

Much love, everyone!
TheManWithoutFear
TheManWithoutFear - 12/15/2017, 10:45 AM
Skews a little too old for me. But Kitty and Xavier look good.

My ideal scenario is original 5, early 20's, meeting at the mansion for the first time. Let's see this kids grow up.
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