Marvel's X-MEN Reboot Rumored to Feature Three Major Villains and Magneto Isn't One of Them
It might be time for Marvel fans to start rethinking their expectations for the X-Men's MCU debut. A new rumor is shaking things up suggesting that the reboot won’t center around Magneto as the main villain.
Marvel might be holding back their most iconic mutant villain in favor of some long-overdue spotlight on other major villains.
The scoop comes from insider Alex Perez during a recent Q&A on Discord via The Cosmic Circus, and if it turns out to be true, we’re in for something very different.
According to Perez, the MCU's X-Men reboot will introduce three primary antagonists: Mister Sinister, Senator Robert Kelly, and Bolivar Trask. All three of these names should ring a bell if you’re faimiliar with the comics or even Fox’s earlier X-Men movies.
Let’s start with Senator Robert Kelly. In the comics and 2000’s X-Men, he’s a fear-mongering politician who builds his career by stoking fear of mutants. While the Fox films ultimately gave him a redemption arc, a reinvented MCU version could lean harder into his role as a symbol of institutional oppression.
Picture him working alongside Bolivar Trask, the scientist responsible for creating the Sentinels—giant mutant-hunting machines with major dystopian vibes. Peter Dinklage played Trask in Days of Future Past, but there’s plenty more to explore there.
Then there’s Mister Sinister, aka Nathaniel Essex. Sinister has been teased in the X-Men film franchise, he never actually showed up. He’s a centuries-old geneticist obsessed with perfection, a puppet master pulling strings behind the scenes of mutant history. Fans have long hoped for Mad Men's Jon Hamm to take on the role. It would be cool if that finally happened.
Avengers: Doomsday will feature Ian McKellen reprising his Magneto one last time. But that film marks the end of the Multiverse Saga, clearing the path for a fresh X-Men era.
Magneto’s had his time to shine. Between McKellen and Fassbender, audiences know him well. So it makes sense that Marvel might let him sit this one out, or at least move him to the side, for now. Giving Mister Sinister, Kelly, and Trask center stage offers a chance to explore fresh, socially relevant conflicts.
Marvel’s X-Men reboot doesn’t have a release date yet, but I would love to see the film dive into the deeper, weirder, and more sinister corners of mutant stoylines.