Marvel's 'X-Men' Reboot Officially Confirms the Return of Jean Grey

2 weeks ago 14

Image via Marvel Studios

Published Aug 7, 2026, 11:32 AM EDT

Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.

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Marvel Studios is wasting no time in finally assembling Charles Xavier's mutants. With the wild success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday set to be an inflection point for the franchise on the horizon, the attention has now turned to the upcoming X-Men reboot under Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier, and who will help take the iconic characters forward for a new generation. Recently, reports have emerged placing Ready or Not star Samara Weaving in the role of Emma Frost and tapping Heartstopper's Kit Connor to play Scott Summers, aka Cyclops. Then, of course, there's Jean Grey.

After endless speculation and attempts at secrecy, Sadie Sink is finally free to speak freely about her heavily guarded role in Brand New Day. The Stranger Things star was indeed revealed to be playing the Omega-level mutant in Tom Holland's return to web-slinging, albeit as an antagonist invading Peter Parker's life at his lowest. Sink was expected to be a part of whatever comes next for the team after the ending saw her ultimately finding common ground and even saving Spidey before boarding a bus out of the city, but in a recent interview with Variety, she has now officially confirmed that she'll appear in the first X-Men movie. Of course, that will come after Avengers: Secret Wars next year, which she was previously said to have a role in.

Sink added that she's already talked with Schreier about where Jean will be taken next and her relationship with her powers. While the foliage in her final scene may hint that she's bound for upstate New York and, more specifically, Westchester, she couldn't confirm that the X Mansion is her next destination, but she teased a lot of learning and growing for the character ahead. Already, the actress has been busy researching to understand Jean's strengths, struggles, and the potential path ahead for her in the context of the MCU.

"Yes, she will. It’s been really exciting all the conversations we’ve had, and I feel really lucky that I have this introduction through “Spider-Man” and [her] backstory. I think that’s what X-Men is all about, too. The more I’ve gotten into it and researched, what makes them special is that they are all incredibly flawed and maybe have done bad things. That makes them more compelling, complex characters and a more complex hero if they don’t start out that way. And they have to find their relationship to their powers. Because it’s not like they’ve asked for this or that these strengths make their lives easier; they make them a lot harder, actually. So, knowing Jean’s struggle will be important in the future of her character and where she goes, just makes her really well-rounded, which I’m excited for."