Marvel's New Professor X Says His MCU Casting Is A "Nightmare"

Published Sep 30, 2026, 11:08 AM EDT

Liz Declan is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant, primarily covering movies. She is a massive fan of Star Wars, the MCU, and Supernatural. In addition to writing, Liz loves attending and covering conventions and interviewing actors. Find her on TikTok and Instagram @va.va.vera

MCU fans have been waiting years for the franchise to finally officially bring the X-Men in, and over the last several months, Disney and Marvel haven't just confirmed that this is finally coming down the line; they've also announced numerous cast members (with more very likely on the way). Around the same time, Samara Weaving was confirmed as the MCU's Emma Frost, and Sadie Sink was revealed to be Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Then, at D23, a full lineup was confirmed.

Among those currently confirmed names are Adam Driver as Mister Sinister, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Maya Boyd as Storm, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, and Christopher Abbott in the iconic role of Professor X. In addition to the reveal of so many casting decisions, the MCU's X-Men movie has already been given an official release date, slated to hit theaters on May 5, 2028. Now, Abbott has shared a bit more insight into this casting decision and what the experience has been like for him thus far, and he used some surprising language (but it actually makes plenty of sense).

Speaking with Variety, Abbott described the D23 reveal as "a bit of a dream and a nightmare" for him, saying:

I think I started walking out pretty enthusiastically, and then I kind of felt like a lot of people there didn’t know who I was, so then my energy shifted within the split second. I was a little bit more humble about it...I almost did a fist pump when I walked out, and then I felt like the applause was muted. So I was like, ‘I’m just going to walk out and nod.’ It feels almost like a video game or a dream. Not like a good dream. It’s a bit of both—a bit of a dream and a nightmare.

Although it's a shame to hear the experience described by Abbott as a "nightmare," it's understandable. Even had the applause been more like what he was expecting or hoping for before he stepped out on stage, the MCU is surely an intimidating franchise to jump into, particularly at this stage of the game, and the pressure of getting the X-Men right no doubt only makes that all the more challenging. However, there's plenty of reason for Abbott and, really, the Marvel fanbase to have hope. Thus far, the reception of the new cast members has seemed positive, and Sadie Sink in particular has been met with fanfare.

In fact, given the frankly colossal scale of Brand New Day's success, the upcoming X-Men movie surely has a leg up, especially considering that movie was technically the MCU's first introduction of these long-awaited characters. Sink is, in many ways, the person kicking off the MCU's X-Men. There's also the possibility that the X-Men will be seen even before X-Men is released, with rumors currently running rampant that some or all of them will appear in Avengers: Doomsday and/or Avengers: Secret Wars. For now, that's speculative for the most part, but it certainly feels possible.

In the meantime, though, enthusiasm within the fanbase and among the cast members will hopefully only build. After all, the full-fledged introduction of the X-Men into the MCU (so, not just the other universe versions shown in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, for example) has been a long time coming, and it feels like the perfect time for the MCU to be making this move, especially with Secret Wars seemingly signaling a major shift for the franchise overall. Ideally, the experience will soon feel like much more dream than nightmare for Abbott.

X-Men will hit theaters on May 5, 2028.

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  Jean Grey

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  Rogue / Anna Marie

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  Scott Summers / Cyclops

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  Samara Weaving

  Emma Frost