Marvel’s X-MEN Has Reportedly Cast Professor X, Asa Butterfield Nearly Played Cyclops

Marvel Studios has reportedly found its new Charles Xavier for the upcoming X-Men reboot, adding another major piece to a movie that appears to be moving quickly toward assembling its first MCU mutant team.

The identity of Professor X remains under wraps for now, but the latest report comes with an interesting detail: it apparently isn’t any of the actors previously linked to the role.

With D23 coming up next weekend, we may not have to wait much longer for Marvel Studios to finally pull back the curtain on the full X-Men team casting.

Director Jake Schreier’s X-Men has now reportedly locked down three, and possibly four, members of its cast. Samara Weaving is set to play Emma Frost, while Kit Connor has landed the role of Scott Summers, better known as Cyclops. Adam Driver is also believed to have signed on for an undisclosed role, though his involvement hasn’t been confirmed.

Then there’s Sadie Sink, who will return as Jean Grey following Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

It certainly feels like Marvel is preparing for a larger cast reveal at D23, while giving fans a few names to chew on ahead of the event.

Now we can apparently add Professor X to the list. According to Daniel Richtman, Marvel Studios has selected the actor who will play Charles Xavier, but it isn’t Bill Skarsgård, Tom Pelphrey, or any of the other names previously rumored for the part.

There’s also some interesting new information about the search for Cyclops. Jeff Sneider reports that Drew Starkey and Cooper Hoffman were both early contenders for Scott Summers. However, the actor who reportedly came closest to beating Connor for the role was Asa Butterfield, best known for Hugo and Sex Education.

Butterfield would have been a pretty unexpected Cyclops, which makes his involvement in the casting process especially interesting. Connor ultimately landed the part, but it gives us a better idea of the age range and type of Scott Summers Marvel was considering.

Sneider also cautioned against treating every recent X-Men casting rumor as current information: "There are rumors flying all over the place for X-Men as reps try to position their clients for roles, and I’m not so sure about those Cailee Spaeny and Tom Pelphrey rumors anymore, either.

“I’m getting the sense that both are old info that’s simply resurfacing. I don’t even know if Rogue is in the movie at this point. If she is, she may have a smaller role than some are expecting."

That possibility fits with previous reports about Marvel’s plans for the central X-Men lineup. The core team is said to resemble the original comic book roster, with Cyclops, Beast, Jean Grey, Iceman, and Angel forming the foundation.

If Marvel really is starting with that group, characters such as Rogue, Storm, and possibly Jubilee could enter the story later rather than immediately crowding the opening portion of the movie. It would give Schreier some room to establish the central team before expanding the mutant population around them.

Sonny Lee Sung Jin, known for Beef, and Joanna Calo, whose credits include The Bear, recently joined the project to write a new draft of Michael Lesslie’s screenplay.

Kevin Feige has spoken about the mutants as the foundation for something much bigger in the MCU, describing the possibilities shortly after SDCC:

"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 acknowledged the challenge of reinventing characters who already have a substantial movie history:

"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 has decades of mutant characters and stories available to pull from, and Feige has made it clear that the studio wants to explore corners of that world that previous X-Men movies barely touched.

"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."

That makes the casting of Professor X especially important. Charles Xavier isn’t simply another member of the team. He’s one of the characters who can define the direction of Marvel’s entire mutant corner of the MCU, particularly if Feige really intends to build a sprawling “mutant saga” around the X-Men.

We already have Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Emma Frost apparently taking shape, with more names likely coming soon. Now Marvel reportedly has its Professor X as well.

The big question is who the is playing him? With D23 right around the corner, there’s a good chance Marvel won’t keep that secret much longer.