Things are finally moving forward on Marvel Studios' long-awaited X-Men reboot, with Michael Lesslie working on the script (we expect another writer to join him at some point), and Thunderbolts* helmer Jake Schreier recently confirmed as director.
There have been conflicting reports about just how far along the project is, but during last night's episode of The Hot Mic, Jeff Sneider seemed very confident that casting is indeed underway, which means we may get some official word on which actors will be suiting-up as this latest live-action incarnation of the team fairly soon.
We have heard multiple rumors relating to actors that are said to be on the studio's radar, including Harris Dickinson, Margaret Qualley, and Julia Butters (they were reportedly in contention to play Cyclops, Rogue and Kitty Pryde, but we don't know if this is still the case), as well as Hunter Schafer (Mystique), Ayo Edebiri (Storm) and Javier Bardem (Mr. Sinister).
Kevin Feige has made it very clear that he is a huge X-Men fan and can't wait to introduce a new take on the mutant heroes to the MCU, but he may not have been quite so keen on recent Disney+ animated series, X-Men '97.
Former showrunner Beau DeMayo has shared some lengthy X posts explaining why he currently has no faith in the live-action reboot delivering the goods, and he claims that Feige "resented" the success of X-Men '97 because fans and audiences were "using it as a referendum on what the MCU needs to be doing to fix itself."
While there might well be some truth to this, it's important to keep in mind that DeMayo was fired by Marvel Studios/Disney shortly before the animated revival show's world premiere last year.
"Mr. DeMayo was terminated in March 2024 following an internal investigation. Given the egregious nature of the findings, we severed ties with him immediately and he has no further affiliation with Marvel."
Though there are some conflicting reports on what exactly occurred, DeMayo is said to have been terminated for sending lewd photos to members of his staff, and there have been further allegations claiming that he was physically and sexually inappropriate with several of his colleagues.
Again, this shouldn't necessarily indicate that he's making anything up, but it's probably best not to put too much stock into these posts, as DeMayo has been on a bit of an anti-Marvel crusade ever since his firing.
That said, DeMayo does make some good points here. Have a read through his posts and let us know what you think.