Who Will Be the Next X-Men? A Guide to the MCU X-Men Casting Rumors

August 5, 2026 / Kevin harson /

Well, there we have it. The first of our future X-Men has been confirmed in the form of Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey, the all-powerful telepath who serves as the grief-stricken villain—with a redemption arc fit for a future anti-hero—of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. And as we gear up for Marvel’s post-Secret Wars mutant era, with Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier helming an X-Men reboot that is rumored to release in 2028, further cast news is expected to arrive imminently. Some in-the-know Twitter scoopers are pointing at D23, Disney’s annual fan event landing in the middle of August, for the official announcement.

That would make sense, given that the coming Avengers movies Doomsday and Secret Wars—which boast a bunch of the classic Fox X-Men actors among their ensembles, from Patrick Stewart’s Professor X to Hugh Jackman’s bazillionth post-retirement appearance as Wolverine, via James Marsden’s Cyclops and Ian McKellen as Magneto—are expected to serve as a final swansong for the the OG mutant heroes. It’s mostly speculation right now, but fans online suspect that those movies will be used to pass the baton to the new generation of X-Men, ushering in a new MCU dynasty that looks to rival the might, and immense popularity, of the Avengers. (Iron Man who?)

With that in mind, here’s our rundown of the latest casting news, plus all the rumors for the new X-Men.

Jean Grey

Sadie Sink, who’s playing Jean Grey.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin

As above, Sadie Sink is the first officially cast member of the new X-Men, playing Jean Grey, the fiery mentalist portrayed by Famke Janssen in the original Bryan Singer trilogy (and later by Game of Thrones alum Sophie Turner). Her introduction in Spider-Man: Brand New Day follows years of rumors pegging Sink to the part—and if the leakers and scoopers got it right with her, they might well be getting it right with the other guys.

At the end of the latest Spidey, we see Sink’s Grey on a bus headed out of New York, her destination presumably Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, aka the home of the X-Men. But who will join her?

Emma Frost