A new update teased an unexpected actor eyeing Professor X‘s role in Marvel’s X-Men reboot. Recent rumors suggested that Bill Skarsgård was up for the role. But a new report has pointed to another actor that fans did not suspect was in the mix. The film recently cast Samara Weaving and Kit Connor as Emma Frost and Cyclops.
According to the latest report from THR’s Heat Vision, Christopher Abbott and Tom Pelphrey recently tested for the role. However, Pelphrey did not get it, and Marvel did not comment on whether Abbott nabbed the role. The report speculates that a “dark horse contender” emerged the victor.
If Abbott indeed has been cast, he would be the second-youngest actor to take on the role following James McAvoy. Traditionally, Professor X is much older than the team of heroic mutants, as seen in X-Men ’97 and the original Fox films. Abbott has also already played a separate Marvel character, The Foreigner, in 2024’s Kraven the Hunter. However, this wouldn’t be the first time an actor has taken multiple Marvel characters over the course of their career.
Marvel’s new X-Men era is taking shape behind closed doors
Marvel Studios has already started planting the seeds for its upcoming mutant saga. In its most recent release, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Marvel introduced audiences to Jean Grey, played by Sadie Sink. The film also dealt with the idea of a mutation inhibitor built by Spider-Man, and introduced Tramell Tillman as William Metzger, an X-Men villain from the comic books.
Following the casting of Frost, Cyclops, and Grey, Marvel appears to be going for a much younger team of superheroes in its reboot. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige already revealed that the next phase of the MCU will focus heavily on mutants. Sink recently confirmed that the X-Men reboot will start filming next year.
The original X-Men cast from the early 2000s will reprise their roles in this year’s Avengers: Doomsday. The X-Men reboot isn’t expected to be released before Avengers: Secret Wars, which is scheduled for late 2027.
