Credit: Marvel Studios Who will he play?
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With Tony Stark/Iron Man making the ultimate sacrifice to defeat Thanos (Josh Brolin) and Chris Evans bidding farewell to his portrayal of Steve Rogers/Captain America, passing on the Captain America mantle to Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson/Falcon, a notable opportunity emerges for esteemed superhero teams such as the Fantastic Four and X-Men to step forward and take on significant roles in the spotlight.
Marvel Studios recently unveiled exciting details about the highly anticipated third installment in the Deadpool film series, aptly titled Deadpool & Wolverine, also known as Deadpool 3. This upcoming chapter is poised to seamlessly blend into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) following The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox (which has been rebranded as 20th Century Studios) and their Fox X-Men Universe.
With the confirmed incorporation of the X-Men into the main MCU narrative, it’s only natural for Marvel Studios to express eagerness to reintegrate the X-Men franchise into their Disney-affiliated brand. Additionally, there’s potential for them to develop their own MCU-specific variations, which align with the “Sacred Timeline” as termed by Disney+’s (Disney Plus) Loki (2021).
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This includes characters such as Deadpool/Wade Wilson (or as he calls himself, “Marvel Jesus”), depicted by Ryan Reynolds, and Wolverine/Logan/James Howlett, famously portrayed by Hugh Jackman. The duo’s eagerly awaited movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, AKA Deadpool 3, is the only Marvel Studios theatrical release for 2024.
Star Wars Actor Cast in Marvel Film
It’s well known by now that Wolverine and Deadpool will likely bring the Fox X-Men Universe to an end this summer, but few might have considered the X-Men story after the Multiverse Saga draws to a close. In the Marvel Comics, the Secret Wars storyline effectively torched the Ultimate Universe, merging certain characters from the Ultimate world, such as Miles Morales’ Spider-Man, into the mainline Marvel 616 Universe.
With what is rumored to be the MCU’s “Mutant Saga” on the horizon, the reported casting of The Mandalorian star Giancarlo Esposito is perhaps not that surprising, considering the actor’s prior enthusiasm to take on the role of the MCU’s original Professor X/Charles Xavier. Many fans, however, are now turning on the star following some less-than-understanding comments.
Giancarlo Esposito has now come forward and stated that he is indeed joining a Marvel Studios project, with Collider reporting that the Star Wars and Breaking Bad actor has been cast in the MCU. The role in question, however, is seemingly not going to be that of the X-Men’s Professor Xavier — but someone else entirely.
Esposito shares that his debut in the MCU will be a wholly different, new role, coming “sooner rather than later”, and being “better than you can imagine.”
With fans reneging on wanting Esposito to join the MCU, and some calling the star a “red flag”, it seems like Esposito will have to prove his superhero mettle in future Marvel projects — mutant or not.
Esposito will join fellow Star Wars alum Pedro Pascal, cast as the MCU’s new reboot version of the Marvel comic book icon Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, slated to debut in the upcoming MCU movie The Fantastic Four.
Before Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, the Fox X-Men movie series depicted the adventures of mutants with extraordinary abilities coexisting in a contemporary world alongside regular humans. Drawing from the Marvel Comics series of the same name, the narrative primarily revolved around Professor X and Magneto’s contrasting beliefs regarding the relationship between mutants and humans.
Recent connections in the MCU to the X-Men universe have begun to emerge in Marvel Studios’ latest film, The Marvels, also known as Captain Marvel 2, whose post-credits scene explicitly brings an MCU Marvel character into the X-Men movie universe.
Are you excited for an X-Men-centric Marvel movie set in the MCU? Who do you think Giancarlo Esposito might act as? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
More on X-Men
Key players involved in the Fox X-Men story included Patrick Stewart portraying Professor X/Charles Xavier, Ian McKellen as Magneto/Erik Lehnsherr, Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe, also known as Storm, Famke Janssen as Dr. Jean Grey, James Marsden as Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique/Raven Darkholme, Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner, also known as Nightcrawler, and Anna Paquin as Marie D’Ancanto, known as Rogue, among others.
Following films like X-Men: First Class (2011), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), and X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) delved into prequel narratives and explored themes of time travel, introducing younger versions of characters such as Professor Xavier, Magneto, and Mystique, portrayed by James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence, respectively.