‘X-Men’ Will Recast Characters for Franchise ‘Reset’

Kevin Feige is looking to put the ex in “X-Men.” The Marvel Studios head said during a press conference, as reported by Variety, that he will be recasting iconic characters for the upcoming “X-Men” movie directed by “Thunderbolts*” helmer Jake Schreier. Feige cited that the comics centered on adolescents, hinting that the reboot would too.

“They have been a place to tell stories about young people who feel different and who feel Other and who feel like they don’t belong,” he said. “That’s the universal story of mutants, and that is where we’re going.”

Feige stressed that Schreier’s iteration will be a franchise “reset” and kill the multiverse moment once and for all. “Reboot is a scary word,” he said. “Reboot can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. Reset, singular timeline — we’re thinking along those lines. […] ‘X-Men’ is where that will happen next.”

Marvel acquired Fox back in 2017. The ensemble casts of previous “X-Men” movies are set to reprise their roles for “Avengers: Doomsday,” with Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, and Kelsey Grammer among those returning. However, that may be their final bow as those characters after the events of 2027’s “Avengers: Secret Wars.”

“We’re utilizing that [story] not just to round out the stories we’ve been telling post-‘Endgame,’ just as importantly — and you can look at the at the ‘Secret Wars’ comics for where that takes you — it very, very much sets us up for the future,” Feige said. “‘Endgame,’ literally, was about endings. ‘Secret Wars’ is about is about beginnings.”

The rumored cast for Schreier’s “X-Men” movie includes Harris Dickinson as Cyclops, Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Margaret Qualley as Rogue, Julia Butters as Kitty Pryde, and Jesse Plemons as Beast (Plemons will also be in the “Hunger Games” franchise now too, with “The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” writer Michael Lesslie behind the “X-Men” script.)

Feige compared the “X-Men” “reset” to other beloved franchises, including James Bond and the recent DCU “Superman.”

“Amy Pascal and David Heyman are now searching for a new James Bond,” Feige said, referring to the producers of Amazon MGM’s upcoming Bond film. “David [Corenswet], the new Superman — he was awesome. That will always be the case.”