When 20th Century Fox was absorbed into Disney in 2019, that brought the original X-Men film series to an end since Marvel Studios finally had the film rights to the mutant superheroes and villains. And while incarnations of these original cinematic X-Men continue to pop up in the MCU, the plan is to eventually release an X-Men reboot and start fresh with this property. That upcoming Marvel movie has been taking some big steps forward over the last 12 months, and now there’s apparently a plan in place to help keep the production cost down that I 100% support.
Although Marvel is coming off a strong opening weekend for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, it’s no secret that the company has had its fair share of misses amidst the hits since Phase 4 began in 2021. An unnamed agent who spoke with Variety said they don’t the studio “consistently hitting $1 billion as before — without China, with Disney+ exposure, post-COVID, without megastars.” So with regard to the X-Men reboot, another insider claimed that it will be looking at “younger talent” rather than A-list actors to recruit as a cost-saving measure.
I think this is a wise idea, and not just because it’s a way to lower the budget. While I still suspect that older characters like Professor X and Magneto will be played by well-known actors, when it comes to the likes of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Jubilee, Iceman, the list goes on, there’s no reason by those younger characters need to be played by big names. Quite the contrary, this reboot can serve as a platform to catapult these younger actors to get their big break rather than build off worldwide fame they already had.
The new X-Men movie could have its budget match or exceed that of an Avengers movie, but it sounds like Marvel is looking to avoid that, at least on the casting side of things. That’s not to say that the studio should skimp on the money, especially when it comes to things like visual effects and production design. However, there’s no reason to break the bank when it comes to hiring the actors given that the reboot is taking this more youth-oriented approach.
Casting is reportedly expected to begin soon, so we may not have to wait too long until we start learning who’s coming aboard. Last year, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ Michael Lesslie was tapped to write the X-Men reboot, and then Thunderbolts*’ Jake Schreier is now attached to direct. The reboot doesn’t have a release date yet, though Variety has heard from sources that it won’t fill the July 23, 2027 slot that Marvel has blocked off as its first post-Multiverse Saga movie.
Luckily for those of you craving X-Men cinematic action, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Rebeca Romijn, Kelsey Grammer, Alan Cumming, James Marsden and Channing Tatum are all reprising their mutant roles for Avengers: Doomsday, which comes out on December 16, 2026. It’s also reasonable to assume the X-Men in whatever form will factor into 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars as well.
