Published Feb 26, 2026, 12:16 PM EST
Cooper Hood is the Associate Editor for all new movie releases, in theaters and on streaming. In addition to writing articles about these titles and upcoming releases, he also oversees content planning for each, ensuring that ScreenRant continues to cover major releases for months after their release.
He has written various reviews for ScreenRant that appear on Rotten Tomatoes, coordinated Oscars and San Diego Comic-Con coverage, appeared on CNN to talk about Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and done select interviews with talent over the years.
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When Walt Disney Studios acquired 20th Century Studios in 2019, one of the biggest questions for the Marvel Cinematic Universe became when the X-Men franchise would be rebooted. The MCU started using mutants a few years later, with Namor, Professor X, Deadpool, and Wolverine among the various X-Men characters who have appeared in the interconnected franchise in some fashion.
And while a host of mutants are set for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, they're all played by actors from the Fox era. Marvel Studios has yet to officially cast anyone to be part of the MCU's main X-Men roster. (That is, unless Sadie Sink is playing Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day after all.)
But Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier has been working on developing the team's first movie since 2025, with writers attached since 2024. The movie still needs an official title, release date, and cast to play the gifted youngsters. So when exactly will we find out who is playing the various mutants who'll star in the MCU's X-Men reboot?
The MCU's X-Men Cast Should Be Announced By 2027 (At The Latest)
The most likely outcome for an X-Men cast announcement is next year. With Marvel Studios focusing on getting Doomsday out this year and Secret Wars out in 2027, it's widely expected that the first X-Men will be part of the MCU's 2028 slate. That would mean production on the ensemble film starts sometime in 2027 at the latest, so all cast members will have to be locked in months before then.
It's even possible that an announcement could come before 2026 ends. Marvel could plan to introduce the MCU's mutant team in Secret Wars, even if only for a small role to tease the state of a reset MCU timeline. If that's the case, then deals will need to be signed at some point this year so they can partake in the production of the Multiverse Saga's conclusion.
Whether it's this year or next, we're inching closer to an official announcement coming. The only other question is how and when Marvel Studios will confirm the cast members and who they are playing.
Assessing Marvel's Options To Announce The X-Men Movie Cast
Given the magnitude of the X-Men's introduction to the MCU, there's no doubt Marvel boss Kevin Feige will want to make a big deal of finally finding the people who will lead his version of the iconic superteam. The best and most exciting option for an official announcement to come would be San Diego Comic-Con, then.
Marvel Studios has a storied history of owning the event by assembling movie casts and dropping huge news, including entire slate reveals. It would be right in line with the studio's practices to debut the X-Men cast in front of thousands of diehard fans at SDCC, whether that happens this year or in 2027. Bringing the actors on stage in Hall H during SDCC 2027 would be my bet.
Of course, Marvel has skipped SDCC more frequently in recent years, too. So if a grand announcement at a large event does happen, D23 could be another option. Otherwise, Marvel will have to settle for something with less fanfare behind it.
The least exciting, but arguably most likely, option is that the X-Men casting news doesn't remain a secret until Marvel can make a public announcement, but rather that it trickles out through trade reports as decisions are made. These roles are among the most coveted in Hollywood, with every younger star likely vying for the available parts. And with the team element in play, it'll be difficult for Marvel to keep their decisions under wraps.
In any case, perhaps we'll know everyone who will be part of the MCU's X-Men cast by next summer, if not earlier.
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