Adam Driver Explains ‘X-Men’ Came Along At “Right Time” After Years Of Rejecting Marvel Roles: “All Kind Of Came Together”

After years of rejected offers, Adam Driver is finally joining the MCU with Jake Schreier’s take on X-Men.

The 2x Oscar nominee recently explained that the role of Nathaniel Millbury/Mister Sinister came along at what “felt like a right time,” following several attempts on Kevin Feige‘s behalf to court the actor into joining the Marvel Studios fold.

“I was a big X-Men fan when I was a kid,” he explained on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “Me and my cousin, Tony, he would be Sabretooth and I would be Wolverine. It’s a big deal.”

Driver added, “I was a big fan. I mean, I was a fan of the other things too. But this one felt like a right time, and then it’s X-Men.”

As Kimmel noted, Feige previously revealed his “long-lived tradition” of getting on a Zoom with Driver to offer him an MCU role, only for the actor to think about it and pass on the project a few days later.

“It was really X-Men and Jake Schreier, who’s the director, his idea for it, and that it’s Kevin Feige,” explained Driver. “You know, it all kind of came together. The script is really cool.”

Following his casting announcement at D23 in August, the pressure is on for Driver. “A lot of people are going to watch it, and if it’s bad, a lot of people will see you being bad. Plus, I do’’t want to mess it up. I’m a huge fan of X-Men,” he told Kimmel.

Driver joins Christopher Abbott as Charles Xavier/Professor X, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, Maya Boyd as Storm, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost and Asa Germann as Angel.

Scheduled to premiere May 5, 2028 in theaters, Marvel tapped Schreier to direct X-Men last May after his previous MCU title Thunderbolts* premiered. Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear showrunner Joanna Calo are writing the script.