Jayme Lawson arrives at the 32nd Annual Actor Awards on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Associated Press
We are rounding out an “official” X-Men cast list for the MCU with new information every week, it seems like. In the wake of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, currently setting monster box office records nearly every day, we got our Jean Grey in the form of Sadie Sink, the first X-Man to appear onscreen.
Soon after? We now know Samara Weaving is Emma Frost and Kit Connor is Cyclops. Past that, we have insider reports and rumors, but also tens of thousands of fans pushing certain names. There are two in particular that keep being brought up, one seemingly close to confirmed, the other perhaps elected by popular vote.
Rogue
A number of insiders are reporting that actress Cailee Spaeny is either being eyed for Rogue or has actually been cast. There’s also a story that Marvel was leaning toward I Love LA actress Odessa A’Zion when Spaeny lobbied hard for the role and became the top pick.
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 14: Cailee Spaeny attends the UK Gala Screening of 20th Century Studios’ “Alien: Romulus” at Cineworld Leicester Square on August 14, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Antony Jones/Getty Images for The Walt Disney Company Limited)
Antony Jones/Getty Images for The Walt Disney Company Limited
Spaeny is on fire the last few years, one of the most popular young actresses on the market, appearing in multiple blockbusters and highly-praised projects. She was just in the second season of Netflix’s Beef, perhaps not well-watched, but her performance was excellent. Before that, she had a role in the latest Knives Out movie, also on Netflix. She led Alien: Romulus before that and partnered with Alex Garland for Civil War after previously doing the underappreciated show Devs with him. Perhaps her breakout part was playing Priscilla in Priscilla, the Elvis-adjacent film opposite Jacob Elordi.
So far, Disney has been casting exactly these sorts of “on fire” actors for roles. Sadie Sink was beloved after years of Stranger Things, and fans were ecstatic to see her in Spider-Man (many guessing she was Jean Grey). Kit Connor starred in one of Netflix’s best-reviewed shows ever, Heartstopper, appeared in Alex Garland’s Warfare and is about to lead an Elden Ring video game adaptation, the game largely regarded as one of the best in the medium. Samara Weaving is a horror icon from two Babysitter movies to two Ready or Not movies. Also action, from Guns Akimbo to Mayhem. And prestige projects like Babylon and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
The point being, Spaeny fits right in here, and has the backing of fans to boot. Provided…Rogue is actually in the first X-Men movie, which is not a guarantee.
Storm
Easily, there is one actress cited 800% more than any other online as the “perfect” casting for the part of Storm. That is Jayme Lawson, who played Pearline in Sinners, an extremely high-profile role in one of the best-reviewed films in recent years. Before that, she was already in a superhero universe between The Penguin and The Batman as Bella Reál, the (very young) mayor of Gotham.
Between Lawson’s acting ability and her looks that seem perfect for the part, she’s the main choice among so, so many fans online, though there are not nearly as many substantive reports that she is being considered or actually cast in the part. Again, we don’t even know if Storm is in the film. Fans took notice that her Sinners co-star and Oscar-winner Michael B. Jordan has been liking posts casting her as Storm on Instagram.
I saw some say that at 28 she is “too old” for the young X-Men being assembled, namely Sadie Sink being 24 and Kit Connor being 22. That’s silly, however (oh no! four years older than Sink!), and of these other names, Cailee Spaeny is also 28 and the already-cast Samara Weaving is 34. Plus, I mean, you’ve never heard of actors playing younger?
So, these are two names to watch, certainly. The theory is there will be a huge slate of X-Men officially revealed at D23 in just four days on August 14, though we’ll have to wait and see if that comes to pass.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.