Sequels Recasting the X-Men for the MCU

[Airwings]

Oh, Robbie Kay has grown old

 

[ALittlePush]

Oh, Robbie Kay has grown old

He's aged well. Do you think he would make a decent Cyclops?

 

[Airwings]

He looks weirdly puffy.

I wouldn't have suggested him for Cyclops but rather a 20 year old Magneto.

 

[ALittlePush]

He looks weirdly puffy.

I disagree. I think having that little bit more weight makes his ears less pronounced.

I wouldn't have suggested him for Cyclops but rather a 20 year old Magneto.

Interesting.

I don't know how they would fit Magneto into the MCU unless they drop his backstory of experiencing the holocaust. However, doing so would take away his motivation for hating humanity whereas not doing so would make him really old because of the timeline. The X-Men struggling to defeat an 80 year old (assuming he was born at the very end of the holocaust, if not he'd be older) even if he is Magneto, would become kind of a joke.

Having Magneto be part of the holocaust would give him the motivation to hate humans quickly if he sees that some of the anti-mutant sentiment is starting to resemble the Nazi propaganda that was used against Jews. Not having him experience the holocaust means they can use a younger Magneto but then they've not got that hatred or they'll have to spend several movies building up that hatred, in which case not only are you re-treading points of the first-class trilogy but you've also got Magneto who isn't Magneto.

They could maybe have Magneto appear in one movie as an old man thus keeping the holocaust background, die, and then have Polaris take over the antagonist to the X-Men role. Her powers are similar to Magneto plus her connection to Scarlet Witch (being sisters- Magneto fathered Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver but their dad was the guy who raised them with their mother) could mirror the close relationship between the original Xavier and Magneto. Added bonus that Thor can sympathise with Scarlet Witch about having an antagonistic sibling.

Xavier would have to be around to give the X-Men their name, but again same problem with Magneto in that time is not on their side if they want to have the friendship from their younger days. However they could make Xavier much younger than Magneto and that the friendship is cross-generational, even then we're looking at an Xavier in his 60s. If they do go for an older Xavier, they could kill him off too alongside Magneto (the two old friends die together) and the X-Men call themselves X-Men in his honour. Jean Grey can fill in the Xavier telepath role and use Cerebro.

What you have then is two female leaders (ticking the woke box), practically serving the same purpose as Magneto and Xavier, but with an in-story reason of why you're not just using Magneto and Xavier.

 

[Jig96v]

Mutants have longer lifespans/age slower. Done.

 

[ALittlePush]

Mutants have longer lifespans/age slower. Done.

I don't think mutants exist in the MCU pre-snap. Having the Snap being what triggers the mutation enables mutants to be worldwide with incidents flaring up without having to deal with the question of why weren't the existence of mutants acknowledged in the films in the last 12 years? Why didn't the X-Men help with Thanos? etc. The simple answer would be because they didn't exist then.

You still have the problem of Magneto's age because his backstory is tied to a real world event which gives a definitive date and the MCU is currently in 2023. Even if you try and say Magneto was born at the very end of WW2 and his hatred becomes about what was done to his parents rather than him experiencing it first hand himself, you're still looking at an 80 year old man.

Also having the snap be the cause of mutation means that the first 3 phases leave a legacy rather than just being neatly wrapped up in a bow and cast aside for the new line up and threat in Phase 4 onwards.

 

[ALittlePush]

Changed my mind on the Rogue casting. I'm putting Amy Manson instead.

 

[Jig96v]

I don't think mutants exist in the MCU pre-snap. Having the Snap being what triggers the mutation enables mutants to be worldwide with incidents flaring up without having to deal with the question of why weren't the existence of mutants acknowledged in the films in the last 12 years? Why didn't the X-Men help with Thanos? etc. The simple answer would be because they didn't exist then.

You still have the problem of Magneto's age because his backstory is tied to a real world event which gives a definitive date and the MCU is currently in 2023. Even if you try and say Magneto was born at the very end of WW2 and his hatred becomes about what was done to his parents rather than him experiencing it first hand himself, you're still looking at an 80 year old man.

Also having the snap be the cause of mutation means that the first 3 phases leave a legacy rather than just being neatly wrapped up in a bow and cast aside for the new line up and threat in Phase 4 onwards.

Magneto's backstory is one reason I beg they don't do that. Wolverine, Apocalypse are others. There's too much lore that such an approach would ruin. Why didn't the X-Men help in previous movies? The same reason Captain Marvel didn't. She was retconed into existing all along so mutants can be too, just set a movie(s) in the past to show where they were at the time.

 

[Jordacar]

I don't think mutants exist in the MCU pre-snap. Having the Snap being what triggers the mutation enables mutants to be worldwide with incidents flaring up without having to deal with the question of why weren't the existence of mutants acknowledged in the films in the last 12 years? Why didn't the X-Men help with Thanos? etc. The simple answer would be because they didn't exist then.

I don't get why this is complicated, because it's built into almost every version of the X-Men: There used to be some, but now there are many. That's it.

In First Class, Charles theorized that the atomic age gave rise to the increase in the mutant populace. The fact that he, Erik, Raven, Shaw, and many others were born before that age didn't contradict his theory. There used to be some, but now there are many.

Fans wonder why they weren't acknowledged in the MCU. Weren't they though? "You're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people that can't be matched," Fury said. He knew then there were paranormal incidents that went beyond the threat of the Chitauri or Loki. After that, Vulture, HYDRA, and others traded in stolen weapons and tried to create/control other superhumans to match the Avengers. And that's just the stuff we've seen so far from the movies and TV tie-ins.

It doesn't have to be the Snap, but it's possibly the cleanest explanation for how X-genes the world over were suddenly activated (regardless of age). It ties into Wanda & Pietro with the Mind Stone. They weren't the first mutants, but they might've been the first whose abilities were activated thanks to exposure to the Infinity stones.

Before there were Super Soldiers, Asgardians, tech heroes, sorcerers, and in some cases Inhumans. And among that, maybe some mutants. Now there are many.

 

[Matt.S99]

Playing around with some ‘what if’ casting choices.
I quite like the idea of Evan Rachel Wood as Jean Grey (though, I can really get behind Deborah Ann Woll)
And also like DeWanda Wise for Storm

 

[Airwings]

Playing around with some ‘what if’ casting choices.
I quite like the idea of Evan Rachel Wood as Jean Grey (though, I can really get behind Deborah Ann Woll)

VERY good suggestions. Those are among the top choices.

Depending on what age Marvel is going for the mutant characters in MCU, X-Men can either be young adults or more experienced ones.

Scenario 1 would be Saoirse Ronan for Jean Grey and Logan Lerman as Cyclops.

Scenario 2: Same characters, Deborah Ann Woll/Kevin Zegers

Then there is in a fact a middle ground, a scenario 3. Not quite as old as no 2 but close to:
Evan Rachel Wood/Michael Angarano

For Mystique, I can see Lily James or Imogen Poots.
Age wise most suitable for scenario 3.

All these are actors/actresses that I can see playing the characters. Guess I don't convince you with most of them.

 

[The Vafrous]

For offering my two cents regarding Wolverine. Some of the actors that I'd like to see play him:

Jack O' Connell
Jamie Bell
Luke Bracey
Luke Grimes
Shia LaBeouf

If they're going older, then maybe Stephen Dorff, Dustin Clare, Sullivan Stepleton, or Dan McPherson.

 

[craigaat]

I think they should go back to the dynamic of having the older teacher mutants and younger student mutants again. I really hated the prequel films, particularly how no one aged at all over 30 years.

 

[Jordacar]

For offering my two cents regarding Wolverine. Some of the actors that I'd like to see play him:

Jack O' Connell
Jamie Bell
Luke Bracey
Luke Grimes
Shia LaBeouf

If they're going older, then maybe Stephen Dorff, Dustin Clare, Sullivan Stepleton, or Dan McPherson.

After Spartacus, I'd love to see Dustin Clare get a shot at the big time.
Also, I've seen Jamie Bell in some stuff, so can someone tell me which of his (admittedly varied) roles has folks going, "Yeah, Wolverine, that's the one."

It'd be wild to see him share space with Holland's Spider-Man.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Donnybrook

 

[ALittlePush]

Magneto's backstory is one reason I beg they don't do that. Wolverine, Apocalypse are others. There's too much lore that such an approach would ruin. Why didn't the X-Men help in previous movies? The same reason Captain Marvel didn't. She was retconed into existing all along so mutants can be too, just set a movie(s) in the past to show where they were at the time.

Regardless of when they give Magneto his powers, the point still stands that World War 2 ended in 1945 and the MCU is currently in 2023. Even if you have Magneto born at the very end of World War 2, in 2023 he'd be 78.Given that he probably won't appear until a few years down the line, you're looking at an 80+ years old Magneto. If you have him born during world war 2 or even just before, you're looking at a 90+ years old Magneto.

A flashback movie could feature Magneto and Xavier, but present day MCU they are extremely old. Xavier they could get away with being younger (but still middle-aged) and have the friendship between the two men be cross-generational, however because Magneto's history is tied to a real world event and time is marching on, it would be difficult to have him not be an elderly man yet also keep his holocaust backstory. It's kind of got to be a choice between one or the other. Also I don't think they should give slow aging to Magneto just to make him fit because otherwise that takes something away from Wolverine. Wolverine's slow aging is tied into his healing factor. I think there were some mutants in the comics who did age slower than normal (but not to the extent of Wolverine's slow aging) but Magneto wasn't one of them.

This is why I think Polaris might be a good one to use. She is Magneto's daughter and practically has the same powers (so can fulfil whatever role Magneto's powers would be used for), if she was raised by him, she'd have the same ideology so any anti-mutant sentiment would feed into that. She's not featured in any of the previous X-Men movies so she would be less known to the general audience which means there would be more freedom to use her in certain capacities. They can have old Magneto appear and die of old age which establishes the connection between the two characters. I don't think the MCU will have too much focus on Magneto and Xavier on account of the fact the X-Men prequel movies focussed on them and it could be seen as re-treading old ground.

It doesn't have to be the Snap, but it's possibly the cleanest explanation for how X-genes the world over were suddenly activated (regardless of age). It ties into Wanda & Pietro with the Mind Stone. They weren't the first mutants, but they might've been the first whose abilities were activated thanks to exposure to the Infinity stones.

That could work. There could be a few isolated anomaly like cases (eg Wolverine) in the past which were kind of swept under the rug. In present day, with the sudden emergence of mutants post-Snap, blood work could be done which provides evidence of an X-gene being present which was activated due to the Snap. Not everyone who was Snapped has the X-gene (so Spiderman's friends aren't getting powers) and those who do have different powers because everyone's genetic make up is unique to them. It's also discovered that the X-gene is present in people who weren't snapped and that it's dormant but can also be passed on to off-spring (whether the X-Gene is active or not).It would be a good way to introduce Hank McCoy as a doctor studying the X-Gene (which can inevitably lead into him turning into Beast) but wasn't Mister Sinister also some kind of geneticist? If so, it would also be a good way to introduce him. Stark Industries could provide the machines used in the analysis and studies of the X-gene (which keep Pepper and Morgan relevant rather than just being cast aside after Tony's death), maybe even have Jean Grey as McCoy's young research assistant/intern in a minor role which then sows the seeds for the Phoenix saga somewhere down the line. Xavier could maybe be in collaboration with Hank McCoy without being too much of a focus, perhaps funding the study. With Sinister on the scene, we might even get the Morlock massacre. Perhaps Sinister could've experimented on them (they were homeless people so were easy targets) and the massacre is Sinister's way of trying to tie up loose ends. As Nathaniel Essex, he would be highly respected for his work in the field, so he doesn't want any of the Morlocks exposing him.

If I remember rightly (so please correct me if I'm wrong) but I think Gambit and Sabretooth were on the team that committed the massacre. Gambit led them to the Morlocks and was horrified at what was happening so he managed to save Marrow and get her out of there whilst everyone else was slaughtered. Gambit could've been introduced previously as a thief for hire, maybe even being hired by Essex to break into Stark Industries (perhaps to get the blue prints for some technology that Sinister wants to build and use in his experiments) and we can get a cool heist scene. Maybe Sinister even privately hires Justin Hammer to build the actual machine for him (thus bringing Sam Rockwell back to the MCU)

Since Hank's study would need people to provide blood samples, perhaps that is how the X-Men actually meet. Cyclops, Storm and Rogue could all be participants alongside cameos of other mutants. Given that Rogue's powers mean that she could theoretically kill someone just by touching them, it's natural that she would want to find a way to control them (or treat them) so that she's not such a walking murder weapon. This then sows the seeds for her taking Captain Marvel's powers.

As for who could play Sinister, maybe Johnny Depp?
I've changed my mind yet again on the Rogue casting, this time I'm suggesting Adelaide Kane.
As for Sabretooth, I'm tempted to say Liev Schreiber (because he did a great job in X-Men Origins Wolverine, even if the movie itself had its faults).
I'd keep the Hank McCoy, Gambit, Jean and Cyclops castings I listed above.
Storm I might change to Mekia Cox but undecided on that one.

Will have to think of people for Xavier, Magneto and Polaris.

 

[MilkmanDan]

After Spartacus, I'd love to see Dustin Clare get a shot at the big time.
Also, I've seen Jamie Bell in some stuff, so can someone tell me which of his (admittedly varied) roles has folks going, "Yeah, Wolverine, that's the one."

It'd be wild to see him share space with Holland's Spider-Man.

I think with Bell it's that he's clearly talented and versatile, short and attractive in a non-prettyboy fashion. He may not have done an obvious "Wolvie"-role, but overall he has shown he has the potential for to play the part.

 

[SumT]

Jamie is pretty good, talented and all, but he will always look like a boy to me, whatever regime he goes and clothes he puts on. He has a specific type of face, so even if Marvel puts all the hair in the world on his face and head, he just wont look believeable. At least not like the Wolverine we all know, but more like a "what if" version. and I think most fans dont want a What if version of Wolverine, but an accurate one, or as closer as possible (even if its closer to Hugh)

 

[Airwings]

What about having a younger Magneto, played by Freddie Highmore?

 

[MilkmanDan]

Can Lily James or Imogen Poots be Jean Grey?

If so, would Logan Lerman be a good match for Cyclops?

I would love for tg11 to comment on this

Lily James would be great. I never thought of Imogen Poots for Jean (I always saw her as Crystal from Inhumans), but she could work.

I'm not sure about Logan Lerman as Cyclops. He feels like a promising child actor who never quite proved himself as a proper star. He would have been a great teenaged Scott Summers back in the day, but I don't know if he grew into someone I'd buy as the combat leader of the X-Men.

 

[Airwings]

Lily James would be great. I never thought of Imogen Poots for Jean (I always saw her as Crystal from Inhumans), but she could work.

I'm not sure about Logan Lerman as Cyclops. He feels like a promising child actor who never quite proved himself as a proper star. He would have been a great teenaged Scott Summers back in the day, but I don't know if he grew into someone I'd buy as the combat leader of the X-Men.

Lerman seems to be back on track with this nazi hunter series, starring him and Al Pacino.
I haven't seen it yet though.

I leave a quote here from one of my earlier posts:

"Depending on what age Marvel is going for the mutant characters in MCU, X-Men can either be young adults or more experienced ones.

Scenario 1 would be Saoirse Ronan for Jean Grey and Logan Lerman as Cyclops.

Scenario 2: Same characters, Deborah Ann Woll/Kevin Zegers

Then there is in a fact a middle ground, a scenario 3. Not quite as old as no 2 but close to:
Evan Rachel Wood/Michael Angarano

For Mystique, I can see Lily James or Imogen Poots.
Age wise most suitable for scenario 3.

All these are actors/actresses that I can see playing the characters. Guess I don't convince you with most of them"

 

[MilkmanDan]

I'm glad he's doing alright, but he still kind of feels like a kid sidekick in his late twenties. I mean, I like him, but at this point I'd rather have him as someone like Iceman and not as the guy we're supposed to believe orders Wolverine around.

 

[Airwings]

I'm glad he's doing alright, but he still kind of feels like a kid sidekick in his late twenties. I mean, I like him, but at this point I'd rather have him as someone like Iceman and not as the guy we're supposed to believe orders Wolverine around.

What about Saoirse for Jean then? Wouldn't they work well together?

Actually I get what you mean. But that depends on the actor playing Logan. If it's Jamie Bell, maybe Lerman will be believable as a leader anyway. Even if he's the clean cut guy next to wild man Wolverine. It all has to to with the cast as a whole, not just single ones..

 

[MilkmanDan]

Saoirse has been my favourite for the role for a few years now. I'd be thrilled if she was cast as Jean Grey. And actor playing Scott should definitely be someone who'd have good chemistry with her. Logan Lerman might have that. I don't know. I don't remember them ever working together.

Overall, I'm still leaning towards Ansel Elgort. He's tall and handsome enough that I could buy him as a hero and a leader, and talented enough to also portray the socially awkward dork hidden underneath Scott's "stoic leader" persona.

 

[Albright]

With those rumors of Giancarlo Esposito being considered as Professir X and Bryan Cranston stated, that Mr. Sinister might be the character he‘s interested to play... were does Aaron Paul fit in?

My fancast was that he could be Werwolf by Night in the Moon Knight series, but he might fit into the X-Men franchise as well.