Fan Cast for MCU's X-Men
The X-Men are one of the biggest and most popular superhero teams across all comic books. And they have yet to make their debut in the MCU. With Deadpool 3 coming next summer, I’m sure we’ll be seeing the MCU’s version of the X-Men in the near future. But who would I want to play the characters? Here’s my fan cast for the MCU’s X-Men
JAMES HOWLETT/WOLVERINE: Casting Wolverine was very very challenging because it’s so hard to find the perfect person to play Wolverine for two reasons. One, Hugh Jackman was so perfect in the role and I don’t pick “Hugh Jackman’s replacement”. Second, the specific characteristics and attributes I need for Wolverine are very tough. I want somebody that can play an angry, tough guy, and who is shorter. In the comics Wolverine is like 5 '3 and very thick and muscular. Hugh Jackman is like 6’2 and a more thin build, still jacked but a thinner build. The person I’m going with, it’s the obvious fan cast for Wolverine but it’s ALDEN EHRENREICH. Yes, the actor that played young Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story. And like I said, this was very hard to cast. And I’m not 100% sold on this pick, I haven’t found that person that I’m in love with to play Wolverine. And I debated going with Taron Egerton as my pick, but I’m much more leaning towards Alden. Because I think he has more of that look that Wolverine needs, he’s only 5’9 so he is on the shorter side. But the main reason is that I want an outside of the box pick for Wolverine, I hope the actor that is Wolverine (if they do cast Wolverine in the MCU) is not one of the obvious people that people have been fan casting. And Alden isn’t a name that I’ve seen thrown out there for Wolverine or MCU roles all that much.
CHARLES XAVIER/PROFESSOR X: Once again it’s very tricky to try and do a fan cast for Professor X after Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy both did a great job in the role. But for Professor X I want somebody who you can buy as a mentor figure to our X-Men, a bit of a father figure. And somebody that can be intense whenever he’s forced to step into action. I’m going to go with GIANCARLO ESPOSITO on this one. And I feel like most people cast him as a Magneto or a Doctor Doom, but I’ve already seen him as a villain The Mandalorian. Giancarlo Esposito has expressed interest in joining the MCU and he would like to be Professor X. And I absolutely buy that casting, I would be totally down if he was cast as Professor X inside of the MCU. I think he’s shown that he’s a great actor so he can play a lot of different types of roles.
SCOTT SUMMERS/CYCLOPS: I feel like we haven’t gotten a great version of Cyclops in a live action version. I’m a big fan of James Marsden and I feel like he was underused inside of the X-Men movies. And then the younger version of Cyclops, Tye Sherdian, I never really bought as Cyclops. When it comes to Cyclops I want somebody who you can buy as a leader, somebody that can give off this leadership vibe. He’s a bit more serious, I’m not looking for the character to be the comedic relief character. I would want GLEN POWELL in the role, Hangman from Top Gun: Maverick. Now I was debating saving him for my Fantastic Four cast, but I want him to have more of a leading role in a big superhero film. I think he’s one of these guys that is right on the cusp of breaking out into the A-list. And while he is great at playing a cocky douchebag, I think he also has this leadership vibe about him. I think he can very much play this leadership role like a Cyclops in the MCU. Another pick I debated going with was another Top Gun: Maverick alumni, Miles Teller. I’m not even holding the fact that he was Reed Richards in Fant4stic against him, but I feel like he’s had more of a bigger career then Glen Powell. And I want to see Glen Powell get his big franchise role.
JEAN GREY: A person that I want to be partnered up with Cyclops as the leaders of the X-Men. And I want somebody who you can buy as smart, strong, and somebody that when they need to can step into action and be a bit more intense. And if they do, the Phoenix saga again can play that intense villain type role. My pick for Jean Grey is going to be VANESSA KIRBY, another up and coming actress of the last several years. She works great in big blockbusters, like she was going back and forth with The Rock and Jason Statham in Hobbs and Shaw. She can play against Tom Cruise really well in the Mission Impossible films. And she’s done a dramatic role in The Crown, and got an Oscar nomination for Pieces of A Woman. So she’s done a lot of different things in her career and would be my pick for Jean Grey.
ORONO MONROE/STORM: For Storm I want somebody who you can buy as an action hero, somebody that you can buy as doing a lot of damage when stepping into action. And for this version of Storm, I want somebody who is maybe a bit more sassy with the way she interacts with the others. I’m going with HALLE BAILEY, an actress that people like to throw shade at because her skin color is darker then what a certain mermaid should be. Kind of funny that I’m picking her because Halle Bailey sounds a lot like Halle Berry, the original Storm in Bryan Singer’s X-Men films. But HALLE BAILEY would be my pick for Storm. If you’ve seen The Little Mermaid (2023) she is quite charming in that role, but I think she can also play the action hero really well. And when she’s not talking in that film, she has to communicate so much with her eyes. And I want Storm to have this vibe where she can just look at somebody, and you know exactly what she’s thinking.
ANNA MARIE/ROGUE: Once again, I feel like we haven’t gotten a great version of Rogue in a cinematic version. Anna Paquin didn’t do a bad job, but I just feel like we never got a great version of the character or one that stands out. For my pick, I want somebody who can be a strong action hero and I want to establish Rogue, where she’s already a hero and not doing the origin story for her. And my pick, somebody that I use a lot in these fan castings, ANA DE ARMAS. One of my favorite actresses of the last several years who I always enjoy when she shows up. She can do the action if you’ve seen No Time to Die, The Gray Man, and Ghosted. She has this screen presence in Knives Out and No Time to Die. And she’s been in a lot of different things, but she hasn’t been picked up by a big superhero franchise yet. So with DC rebooting or with more heroes joining the MCU, I hope she joins a big franchise sooner rather than later.
HANK MCCOY/BEAST: Unlike Rogue and Cyclops, I feel like we’ve gotten two great versions of Beast with Kelsey Grammar and Nicholas Hoult. And unpopular opinion, I might prefer Kelsey Grammar’s Beast over Nicholas Hoult. But for Beast I want somebody who can play a very nerdy scientist guy, maybe a bit awkward. But he’s also somebody that as The Beast can be very human and ground this very over the top character with being this big blue furry beast. And he can also step into action and be the hero when he needs to be. I'm going with LUKE EVANS. He’s been in Hollywood for 15 years now, and he’s been in a bunch of different stuff whether it’s playing heroes in The Hobbit sequels or villains in Fast and Furious 6 and Gaston in Beauty and the Beast (2017). I always enjoy it when he shows up in things, I think he’s great in the movie. He’s great at being the hero in The Hobbit and he can play smart characters really well if you’ve seen him Fast and Furious 6. Plus he’s over 6 feet tall and has a big build, so I think he pulls off being The Beast really well. But maybe you do a motion capture performance for The Beast, could also be very cool.
GAMBIT: One of these characters that it seems like Marvel has been trying to get a spin-off made for years. Taylor Kitsch portrayed the characters in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, obviously didn’t go anywhere. And then for years Channing Tatum was attached to playing Gambit in an X-Men spin off movie, but that didn’t happen. So Gambit needs his time as a hero with an arc spanning multiple films. And I want somebody who is very willing to step into action, but is also very laid back. He’ll step into action, but has a calm personality about him. Maybe he’s a bit charming with ladies, I believe him and Rogue have a romance in the comics. But have him be a fun spice character, have him be a character that you enjoy when he’s on screen but you don’t necessarily want an entire movie built around him. My pick is going to be AUSTIN BUTLER. The guy that got an Oscar nomination for portraying Elvis, in well…Elvis. And I first knew him on Arrow, he was in the third season of Arrow about 8 years before Elvis came out. Elvis showed that he’s a great actor, he’s done a number of different things. He’s in Dune: Part 2 coming out later this year. And he’s not in a big franchise yet, so why not give him Gambit in the MCU.
ERIK LANHESTER/MAGENTO: Again, we’ve already gotten two great versions of the character with Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender. For the role I want Magneto to play in my X-Men movie (more on that during my pitch). I want somebody who you can buy as evil and this mastermind, somebody who can play a very intense and maybe a bit darker character. My pick, one that isn’t talked about a lot for MCU roles and I think should be, DENZEL WASHINGTON. Obviously, he’s one of the most celebrated actors of the last 30+ years, he’s a Hollywood legend, a double Oscar winner. And I think probably intentionally, but he hasn’t been picked up by a big franchise yet. And I think he could really fit in with Magneto and play very well opposite of Giancarlo Esposito’s Professor X.
RAVEN DARKHOLME/MYSTIQUE: Very much Magneto’s right hand man (or woman) who is very manipulative and is this agile fighter against the X-Men. For this one I’m going with another Mission Impossible alumni, REBECCA FERGUSON. An actress that sort of came out of nowhere and then launched onto the scene in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. And she’s obviously done a lot of big franchise roles like Mission Impossible and Dune. And in her Mission Impossible films she can play these characters where you don’t fully know whose side she’s on, you don’t fully trust her. And she was the villain in Doctor Sleep and played this very interesting role in The Greatest Showman. So she’s done a lot of different things, and hasn't been in a big comic book movie yet. So I think Mystique will fit her well.
WILLIAM STRYKER: A pretty classic X-Men villain that we’ve gotten three different versions of in the Fox X-Men franchise. Brian Cox would be my favorite version of the character. But I want somebody who you can really buy as a mastermind, somebody that you really don’t like. They do despicable things to characters and you want to see our heroes, mainly Wolverine take them out. My pick is going to be CHRIS COOPER, an actor that I always love when he shows up in things. If you’ve seen The Bourne Identity, he can play really unlikable characters. He can command the screen and boss people around really well. And he did a campier villain in The Muppets from 2011, but again played a character that you really don’t like. And then it’s easy to forget but he was cast as Norman Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, I think the canceled third film was going to expand on his character. But he was going to be in a comic book movie, let’s give him a proper role in a comic book movie with William Stryker.
There you have it, there’s my fan cast for the MCU’s X-Men. I will be doing a pitch for how I would do an X-Men movie set in the world of the MCU. That will be coming very shortly, but I wanted to do a separate fan cast. And I’ll probably do one for The Fantastic Four as well.
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