On Aug. 14, during Disney’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, president of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige officially announced the cast of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first “X-Men” film. Prior to the announcement, fans who saw Marvel’s latest film, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”, already knew that actress Sadie Sink would be playing the role of Jean Grey.
Sink got her start as a child actress on Broadway playing multiple roles in a 2012 production of “Annie”. In 2015, she played Young Elizabeth in “The Audience”. In 2017, Sink joined the cast of “Stranger Things” for season two to play her most widely known role as Max Mayfield. Sink also originated the role of Shelby in “John Proctor is the Villain" on Broadway. She also played Juliet in a West End production of “Romeo and Juliet”.
Some fans knew who Sink would be playing before watching “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”. The secrecy the cast used to try and hide the role only further fueled fans to create theories about who Sink could possibly play in the film. It was actually Steve Lacy, who wrote a song featured in the film, who let the secret slip. In an interview with the streamer Valkyrae at the premiere, the musician shared that the character he was most excited to see in the film was Jean Grey.
Jean Grey’s longstanding love interest, Scott Summers, or Cyclops, is set to be played by Kit Connor. He played Romeo in Broadway’s 2024 production of “Romeo + Juliet”. Conner played a Young Elton John in “Rocketman”. He also played Nick Nelson in Netflix’s “Heartstopper,“ which is based on the graphic novel series of the same name. Connor’s “Heartstopper" co-star Joe Locke also appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Billy Maximoff in “Agatha All Along”*. Connor also played Tommy in the A24 film “Warfare”.
Connor*and Sink are not the only ones who were in variations of “Romeo and Juliet”. Maya Boyd, who will be playing Ororo Munroe, also known as Storm, played Juliet in “& Juliet” on Broadway. The character of Storm is known for her theatrically long monologues, which is why fans are excited that Boyd’s acting background is mainly theatrical. She played Molly in “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” and was in the ensemble for “Merrily We Roll Along”. Boyd has also been in short films such as “Révérence” and “Deadbeat”.
Professor Charles Xavier is to be played by Christopher Abbott. Abbott played Alfie Blessington in “Poor Things," Charlie Dattolo in “Girls” and Ronnie Shaughness in “The House of Blue Leaves” on Broadway. He also played Biff in “Death of a Salesman”.
Samara Weaving is set to play Emma Frost. She notably starred in “Ready or Not” and “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” as Grace MacCaullay. Weaving appeared in “Scream VI” as Laura Crane and as Lisa in “Over Your Dead Body”. She also played Bee in both “The Babysitter” and “The Babysitter: Killer Queen”.
Inde Navarrette was one of the biggest names of summer 2026 after starring in the horror movie “Obsession”. Now the actress is set to play the role of Rogue. Prior to the official casting announcement, there was a false rumor online about Navarrette possibly playing Mystique following an interview the actress did with Variety. Though it is Navarrette’s first Marvel project, she has worked with the company’s competitor, DC, as she played Sarah Cushing in “Superman and Lois”.
Adam Driver shared through a prerecorded video that was played at the D23 Expo that he would be playing Dr. Nathan Milbury, a popular alias for Mister Sinister. Driver is most notable for playing Kylo Ren, son of Han Solo and Princess Leia, in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy. Some of his other popular roles include Adam Sackler in “Girls” and Charlie Barber in “Marriage Story”.
The film is to be directed by Jake Schreier. It is not his first time directing a film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He previously directed the 2025 movie “Thunderbolts”. Schreier has also directed 8 episodes of “Beef” as well as the film adaptation of “Paper Towns”.
The X-Men film is set to be released on May 5, 2028.
