Though nothing has been confirmed, several reliable sources are reporting that there will be some kind of X-Men-related announcement during D23 later today.
We have heard that the entire main cast has not been locked down, but a partial reveal is likely, and the name of one actor appears to have been disclosed a little early.
Apparently, we can expect Christopher Abbott to be announced as the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Charles Xavier.
Last week, a rumor circulated online that Marvel had already cast someone to play Professor X, and the actor had "previously appeared in a Marvel project." Abbott, 40, played The Foreigner in Sony Pictures' Kraven the Hunter. His other credits include Wolfman, Poor Things, Bring Them Down, and Catch-22.
Assuming this report is accurate, Abbott will join Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Kit Connor as Cyclops, and, of course, Sadie Sink as Jean Grey.
The reboot's core team is said to consist of the original comic book crew (Cyclops, Beast, Jean Grey, Ice-Man and Angel), but other characters, such as Rogue, Storm, and possibly Jubilee, will likely be introduced later in the movie.
Charles Melton, who is believed to be in contention to play Hank McCoy, had the following to say about the rumors during a new interview with The Playlist.
“It depends on what day or moment you catch me on, but right now I’d say I think I believe in Jake and Sunny so much, and I would love to work with them again, and many more times. They know that. I try to stay away from the fodder as much as I can. So I’ve limited myself to Googling myself maybe 20 times a day instead of 50. It was really bad before."
Sonny Lee Sung Jin (Beef) and Joanna Calo (The Bear) recently came aboard to write a new draft of Michael Lesslie's script.
Kevin Feige had the following to say about Marvel's plans for the X-Men shortly after SDCC.
"Acquiring the X-Men rights isn't just about... for example, Wolverine is an outstanding character, and we were able to team him up with Deadpool, which is great. But the X-Men are far more than just Wolverine, far more than the original team; fundamentally, it's a universe, a multi-stage saga. Much of that is what we're working towards."
"We’re constantly changing, constantly evolving, but having some guidance helps us act more purposefully, especially with X-Men—it’s already had 10 movies, some very, very good, some I think haven’t lived up to expectations—how do we plan the 'mutant saga' in a very grand way?"
"That being said, we have many more characters to explore in the future—the schedule is already booked until 2042, especially the X-Men," Feige added. "The X-Men have many unexplored characters from the Asia-Pacific region, particularly China, which we're very eager to explore. That's why I'm excited about the X-Men: we can show the world different types of heroes."