Marvel Studios revealed Marvel’s X-Men cast in full at D23 on August 15, taking the stage during the Disney Entertainment Showcase to confirm the actors behind its first standalone X-Men film. The reveal ends months of casting rumors and sets a release date of May 5, 2028. D23 runs every two years as Disney’s main fan convention, and the company has used it before to unveil major Marvel casting news alongside Star Wars and animation announcements.
Director Jake Schreier introduced the cast alongside Sadie Sink, already confirmed as Jean Grey. Kit Connor joins as Cyclops, Christopher Abbott as Professor X, Inde Navarette as Rogue, Maya Boyd as Storm, and Samara Weaving as Emma Frost. Adam Driver rounds out the group as Nathaniel Milbury, known to comic readers as Mr. Sinister. Marvel used the character’s civilian alias rather than the villain name on stage, a choice that mirrors how the studio has introduced other comics-derived characters under their human identities before revealing costumed roles.
The full Marvel’s X-Men cast
D23 attendees got the complete lineup in one announcement, matching several recent leaks. The confirmed roles are:
- Sadie Sink as Jean Grey
- Kit Connor as Cyclops
- Christopher Abbott as Professor X
- Inde Navarette as Rogue
- Maya Boyd as Storm
- Samara Weaving as Emma Frost
- Adam Driver as Nathaniel Milbury (Mr. Sinister)
Two names that circulated in earlier rumors did not appear on stage. Charles Melton, floated as a potential Beast, gave only a cryptic answer when asked about the role in a recent interview and was absent from the D23 lineup. Cailee Spaeny, who broke out in Alien: Romulus, was also absent. Earlier rumors had linked Spaeny to Rogue, but that part went to Navarette instead.
How the project got here
Kevin Feige first confirmed an MCU X-Men film at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, telling IGN the studio’s take would differ from 20th Century Fox‘s earlier films. Little else surfaced until 2023, when Feige said Marvel was taking pitches from screenwriters. Michael Lesslie, who wrote The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, signed on as sole screenwriter in 2024. Marvel then named Schreier, who directed Thunderbolts, as director in 2025.
In April, reports said Marvel brought in Beef writers Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo to rewrite the script. The project had been in development before Deadpool & Wolverine arrived, though that film’s success, and its use of Fox-era X-Men characters in Avengers: Doomsday, kept interest in a mutant-focused MCU project alive while Marvel’s X-Men cast came together behind the scenes.
Marvel has not released a synopsis or footage, and the script rewrite reported in April suggests the story is still being shaped even with a director, writers, and cast in place. With the cast now set and a 2028 release date locked in, Marvel has roughly two years to finish the script and begin production before the film reaches theaters.