Our Terms & Conditions | Our Privacy Policy
The Fantastic Four have finally joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a new Spider-Man movie is filming, which will feature The Hulk and the Punisher, and the Avengers are going to take on Doctor Doom, so you know what that means? Time to talk about the X-Men! While the 20th Century Fox era of the X-Men is getting a curtain call with Deadpool & Wolverine, Avengers: Doomsday, and likely Avengers: Secret Wars, after that the characters will be rebooted into the MCU proper.
Just like the 26-month wait between the Fantastic Four’s announcement and the cast reveal, the X-Men’s MCU fan-casting rumors have become a new Wild West. Considering the MCU’s X-Men likely won’t hit theaters until 2028, it is still too early to tell who will take on the role of the merry mutants. A recent report from Variety said that the upcoming Jake Schreier-directed X-Men film was “looking for younger talent, rather than A-listers” because they wanted to “keep the cost down.”
This certainly points to some interesting indications of where the MCU is taking the X-Men. It appears they are returning to the original Stan Lee and Jack Kirby emphasis on the school aspect and their sub-name, “The Children of the Atom.” The idea of not pursuing A-list talent garnered the most headlines, but should it have? For the most part, this is always how the MCU has operated when it comes to casting its leads. The idea that Marvel is prioritizing an actor’s ability to embody a character, as opposed to their star power, is what the X-Men need.
Marvel Typically Doesn’t Cast A-List Stars; They Make Them
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The idea that Marvel Studios is not looking at A-list stars for X-Men shouldn’t be surprising, given that it is rarely how the studio works. The studio made a big splash when they first came onto the scene by casting Robert Downey Jr., Edward Norton, and Samuel L. Jackson. Downey Jr. was seen as a risky bet whose turn as Iron Man made him an A-list star once more. As for Edward Norton, that didn’t work out. Despite being 76 years old, Samuel L. Jackson is still playing Nick Fury. What Marvel has been superb at is finding talent and investing in them, as their roles in MCU projects turn them into A-list stars.
When Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston were cast as Thor and Loki, many headlines pointed out how they were unknowns. Before being cast as Bucky in Captain America: The First Avenger, Sebastian Stan was best known for roles in The Covenant and shows like Gossip Girl. Now he is an Academy Award nominee. It was likely nobody knew who Tom Holland was in 2015 when he was first cast as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, but now, 10 years later, he is one of the biggest stars on the planet. The same goes for Zendaya, who, when she was first cast as Michelle Jones in Spider-Man: Homecoming, was best known as a Disney Channel star.
This isn’t to say Marvel doesn’t cast big stars. Yet, they’ve often favored Oscar nominees like Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner as the Hulk and Hawkeye, respectively, or an Academy Award-winner like Brie Larson as Captain Marvel. They’ve cast names like Bradley Cooper to voice Rocket or even big comedy star Paul Rudd to play Ant-Man, but Marvel Studios has made its reputation for not just spending money on a big star to attract audiences. They’ve gone after the best actor for their roles, be they big names or unknowns… and sometimes that is more exciting.
Marvel has cast unknowns like Iman Vellani, rising talents like Simu Liu, and actors looking to redefine their image like Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, and Dave Bautista. Marvel has been in the business of making stars for most of its tenure, and even then, not everyone knows their name. Chris Evans, being Captain America and the star of one of the highest-grossing movies of all time with Avengers: Endgame, still had people not knowing who he was by name in an episode of Billy on the Street.
What Does “A-List” Even Mean Anymore?
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The use of the term A-list star also raises a lot of questions, since the word itself is often up for interpretation. A-list stars traditionally refer to the most bankable movie stars in the world, but now can also mean someone with a huge social media following and presence in the press. Kim Kardashian and Tom Cruise are both A-list, but for different reasons. Marvel Studios was likely never going to approach the likes of George Clooney, Julia Roberts, or Will Smith to be the leads in their X-Men film.
This gets into the heart of what exactly A-list even means anymore, particularly in a streaming age where the lines between film and television blur. There used to be a time when transitioning from television to movies was viewed as an upgrade, while participating in a television series was seen as a sign of a career in trouble. However, that hasn’t been the case for about 15 years now. Now, actors can have career-defining performances thanks to roles on hit streaming series that make them in-demand for films.
Take The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast, for example. Pedro Pascal is likely the most well-known member of the cast to the public, but most people probably wouldn’t call him a household name the way other stars like Leonardo DiCaprio are. Marvel decided to fill out the cast of the Fantastic Four with performers known for being part of critically acclaimed streaming series, which made them desirable talent who were also likely known in some part to audiences.
Pascal with The Mandalorian and The Last of Us, Vanessa Kirby in The Crown, Joseph Quinn in Stranger Things, Ebon Moss-Bachrach in both Girls and The Bear, and Julia Garner in Ozark, encompass some of the biggest television series of the past 10 years. The cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps might not be household names, but audiences likely recognized at least half the cast from somewhere. Marvel Studios certainly didn’t skimp on the talent when it came to casting the Fantastic Four.
The funny thing is, one of the best superhero casting decisions ever was an unknown playing an X-Men. When Hugh Jackman was cast as Wolverine in the 2000s X-Men, he was a last-minute replacement for Dougray Scott. Jackman, at the time, was best known for musical performances in Australia’s renditions of Beauty and the Beast and Sunset Boulevard and the London West End production of Oklahoma. After X-Men, he catapulted to superstardom and became an A-list actor.
Most of the X-Men Rumored Names Might Still Qualify
Amazon MGM Studios
Due to the nebulous nature of what the A-list is or what qualifies for it, many of the names that have been rumored could still be in play, like Elle Fanning, Margaret Qualley, Julia Butters, Hunter Schafer, and Harris Dickinson. It goes to show that despite those actors’ impressive résumés, they may not be classified as A-list stars, making them potentially affordable for Marvel Studios to keep production costs down. It probably does rule out fan-favorite Daniel Radcliffe as Wolverine, but that never felt like a realistic possibility. It’s also safe to say stars like Timothee Chalamet, Jenna Ortega, and Glen Powell are likely out of consideration, given past comments about superhero movies.
It’s worth noting that when The Fantastic Four: First Steps was announced in 2020, no rumored casting list or fan-cast would have had Joseph Quinn since his breakout role as Eddie Munson on Stranger Things didn’t air until May 2022. There is a good chance one or a few of the future X-Men cast might not have had their breakout performance yet. They might be doing minor supporting roles on a television series before landing a true hit. With the MCU’s X-Men reboot likely still three years away, it means maybe keeping an eye out for talent on the rise.
There will be no shortage of rumored X-Men casting stories or fan-cast lists. Some might be accurate, some might be predictable, and some might even be inspired. But there is an exciting prospect that the X-Men might be led by fresh faces for a new generation.
Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.
Aggregated From –
Comments are closed.