Here’s the latest news and rumors around the casting for X-Men and the race is on to have the cast ready for D23. This is a mix of trade news and insider rumors but ultimately by the time you read this you’ll know as much as anyone on the current situation. I’ve been on vacation for the past week, so a lot of trade news has happened and as you can see from this report by Deadline, we now have two more names to add to the confirmed list for this movie.
Kit Connor (Heartstopper) is playing Scott Summers, aka, Cyclops and Samara Weaving (Ready or Not 2: Here I Come) will play Emma Frost.
Those we began with, were Sadie Sink, who has already played Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, plus Adam Driver. Who Driver is playing is still to be fully confirmed but it seems to be Mister Sinister, trades say he’s definitely a villain.
There have been rumors that have ultimately been backed by trades that Marvel wants to announce the full X-Men cast at D23. However, it appears there is a potential problem in that plan.
Barside Buzz
There are rumors that Marvel are struggling to get some of the cast signed up in time. Specifically a rumor is being spread around many leakers that Charles Melton has pulled out of playing Beast.
They’re having some issues with the X-Men casting, so I’m not sure they’ll announce the cast at D23. It all depends on whether they can lock everyone in on time.
— Daniel Richtman (@DanielRPK) August 10, 2026
Okay, I understand now how the Melton thing got out 😭. But there’s a reason I haven’t said it publicly and only in private. It's not 100%
— Daniel Richtman (@DanielRPK) August 11, 2026
As for D23 they're not all locked in yet, not just Melton, Spaeny too. They still have time so we'll see
I mean I even heard this and I haven't tried to scoop much of anything in years. This is going around, no doubt https://t.co/rGjhM7u451
— Charles Murphy (@_CharlesMurphy) August 10, 2026
From what we can tell there are still a few roles to get confirmed, one is Beast, and another is Rogue. Charles Melton may still be Beast, but people are less convinced now that’s a definite. As for Rogue I think most insiders feel Spaeny will get the role, it’s just not a total lock.
Another character we know definitely needs to be cast is Professor X.
As Daniel RPK said on his Patreon,
“It sounds like Marvel has cast an actor as Xavier, but it’s neither Bill Skarsgård nor Tom Pelphrey.”
This was discussed in detail in last week’s The Hot Mic with John Rocha and Jeff Sneider and they basically said the same thing. Both were up for the role and they don’t think either got it.
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Apoc Horseman was another who echoed this ‘third man’ rumor. However, we have one other name to add from THR who had this to say on Professor X.
‘Then there are the Professor X rumors. Bill Skarsgard seemed to have emerged from certain quarters who certainly seem so certain about their claims. We can tell you with certainty that Christopher Abbott (Tony Award nominee for Broadway’s Death of a Salesman) and Tom Pelphrey (HBO’s Task, Amazon Prime Video’s Outer Range) both tested for the role…and Pelphrey did not get it. But did Abbott? Or is it possible a dark horse contender nabbed? Marvel isn’t responding’.
Even then they admit it could be someone else, which leaves us no further forward.
One final name fans assume will be in the film is Storm, however there are no serious casting rumors of late for that role. It’s even been rumored Storm may actually make her debut later that same year (assuming X-Men is May 2028) in Black Panther 3. So the reason we may not be hearing any solid rumors for that role is, she’s not actually in X-Men. I guess we will see on that front.
TLDR
So, to summarise the X-Men casting situation.
Sadie Sink is playing Jean Grey, Kit Connor is Cyclops and Samara Weaving is Emma Frost. Cailee Spaeny is probably Rogue and Charles Melton might be Beast. Professor X has most likely been cast, but no one is saying who it is, or no one knows who it is. Adam Driver is playing the villain, probably Mister Sinister and Storm, or any other major character remain mysteries, or not relevant.
D23 is August 14 to August 16 and I wrote and published this article on August 11. I guess we will know if the cast gets introduced or not in a few days time. As always, leave any thoughts you have below.
