Adam Driver’s Mr. Sinister Rreportedly Has a Major MCU Future After X-MEN
Adam Driver’s Mr. Sinister may be sticking around the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a lot longer than one movie.
Adam Driver is set to make his MCU debut as Nathan Milbury in Marvel Studios’ upcoming X-Men reboot, and a new rumor claims the villain will appear across “multiple MCU projects.” If true, Mr. Sinister could become one of the major threats driving Marvel’s larger Mutant Saga.
Marvel officially announced the main cast of X-Men at D23 last month, confirming Driver’s role in the film. The casting came with an interesting twist because Driver had previously been rumored for Magneto.
Dr. Nathaniel Essex used the Nathan Milbury identity after allowing Apocalypse to transform him into Mr. Sinister, one of the X-Men’s most persistent and dangerous enemies.
Driver is a pretty solid choice for the character and it’ll be fun to see what he can do with a villain as twisted and calculating as Sinister.
The character has never received a proper live-action movie appearance despite decades of history with the X-Men. X-Men: Apocalypse teased EssexCorp during its post-credits scene, apparently planting the seeds for Mr. Sinister, but that storyline never went anywhere.
According to rumors surrounding the movie, Driver’s Milbury will have ties to Scott Summers, played by Kit Connor. That could point toward a story involving Sinister’s obsession with the genetics of Scott and Jean Grey, who will be played by Sadie Sink.
In the comics, Sinister becomes fixated on their DNA and its potential. Marvel could adapt that idea by having him attempt to harvest Scott and Jean’s genetic material to create the “ultimate mutant weapon.”
It would probably be too soon to jump directly into Madelyne Pryor, Jean’s clone and a major piece of Sinister’s comic book history. Marvel could still start planting pieces for future adaptations inspired by stories such as Mutant Massacre, Inferno, and X-Cutioner’s Song.
That brings us to the latest rumor. According to MTTSH, Mr. Sinister is expected to appear in “multiple MCU projects” following his X-Men debut, positioning Sinister as a recurring enemy throughout Marvel Studios’ Mutant Saga.
There’s also the possibility that some of those appearances could happen on Disney+. Marvel is reportedly developing at least two mutant-related Disney+ series connected to the larger movie storyline, giving Sinister plenty of places to turn up outside the main X-Men films.
Marvel has already confirmed several other major members of the reboot’s cast. Christopher Abbott will play Professor Charles Xavier, Samara Weaving is Emma Frost, and Maya Boyd is Storm.
More casting announcements are expected, with Beast and Magneto among the major characters still unaccounted for. Earlier reports suggested Marvel might build its first MCU X-Men team around the original comic lineup of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, and Angel, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Sonny Lee Sung Jin, known for Beef, and Joanna Calo of The Bear have been working on new draft of Michael Lesslie’s screenplay.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has made it clear that the studio sees X-Men as something much bigger than another superhero franchise. Shortly after SDCC, he explained the scale of what Marvel inherited when it acquired the rights to the mutants:
"Acquiring the X-Men rights isn't just about... for example, Wolverine is an outstanding character, and we were able to team him up with Deadpool, which is great.
“But the X-Men are far more than just Wolverine, far more than the original team; fundamentally, it's a universe, a multi-stage saga. Much of that is what we're working towards."
Feige also talked about the challenge of building something new after so many previous X-Men movies:
"We’re constantly changing, constantly evolving, but having some guidance helps us act more purposefully, especially with X-Men—it’s already had 10 movies, some very, very good, some I think haven’t lived up to expectations—how do we plan the 'mutant saga' in a very grand way?"
Marvel clearly has enough mutant characters and stories to keep this corner of the MCU running for years. Feige added:
"That being said, we have many more characters to explore in the future—the schedule is already booked until 2042, especially the X-Men.
“The X-Men have many unexplored characters from the Asia-Pacific region, particularly China, which we're very eager to explore. That's why I'm excited about the X-Men: we can show the world different types of heroes."
If Marvel really intends to build an entire Mutant Saga, Mr. Sinister makes a lot of sense as a recurring villain. His obsession with mutant genetics connects him to an enormous number of characters and gives Marvel plenty of comic book material to pull from without rushing straight toward another Magneto-centered conflict.