Giancarlo Esposito (The Boys, The Mandalorian) has joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe... but not as the character he's been campaigning to play over the past few months.
The actor has expressed interest in taking over from Sir Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy as the next big-screen incarnation of Professor Charles Xavier on several occasions, although he wasn't too keen on one particular aspect of the character.
"I've given it a cursory glance in my brain, and immediately I go 'Hmm,'" he said during a recent interview with Fade To Black . "'[It would] be great to play Professor X in some other incarnation than just the wheelchair. Right? Because the physical idea of being in a wheelchair every single day does not appeal to me. I just don't feel that old and I don’t like to sit that much. But certainly, we could figure something out maybe. Professor X wasn’t always in the wheelchair but that is part of his character development. So, I think about it a little bit but I don’t give it all of my thought because it would have to come to me."
Not everyone was ecstatic about the prospect of Professor X without the wheelchair, but there'll be no need to worry, because Esposito will be playing another character.
During a panel on the Thunder Stage at CCXP (via Collider), Esposito revealed that he will be appearing in a Marvel Studios project, but declined to reveal any more details. The actor did say that we'd find out "sooner rather than later," and the role is "better than you can imagine."
Could he appear in Deadpool and Wolverine? We know the Merc With a Mouth's MCU debut is going to feature a lot of cameos, so this mysterious character could easily show up in a scene to set the stage for a return down the line.
We obviously have very little to go on, but which hero or villain do you think Esposito would be a good fit for? Drop us a comment down below.
Esposito can currently be seen in theaters in Abigail, and is set to reprise the role of Stan Edgar for the upcoming fourth season of The Boys.
"The world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power," reads the official season 4 synopsis. "Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son as well as his job as The Boys’ leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late."
Returning cast members include Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Cameron Crovetti, along with new recruits Susan Heyward, Valorie Curry, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
The first three episodes of The Boys season 4 will be available to stream from June 13th, with new instalments dropping weekly through to the season finale on July 18.