The Mutant Saga casting furnace is officially white-hot. Following the news that the creative team behind The Bear is handling the script, industry insider Jeff “The In” Sneider dropped a bombshell regarding two major names being eyed for the MCU’s X-Men reboot: Odessa A’Zion and Peter Claffey.
While no casting has been made official, Marvel’s Big Cheese, Kevin Feige, is reportedly looking for next-gen talent to anchor the franchise for the next decade and A’Zion and Claffey certainly fit the bill.
Known for her work in Hellraiser and Sitting in Bars with Cake, A’Zion has built a career playing characters with a raw, wilful rebel energy. This aligns perfectly with a younger, more punky take on Rogue that skips the Fox-era vulnerability for the high-attitude powerhouse of the ’80s Claremont run.
In perhaps the most inspired rumor of the year, the 6’5″ Irish actor and former rugby player is being linked to Hank McCoy. Currently the star of HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Claffey represents a shift toward casting actors who naturally possess the tank proportions required for the role, moving away from purely CG-reliant versions of the character.
By looking at stars like A’Zion and Claffey, Marvel is signaling that the X-Men are a character study first and a superhero team second. Additionally, with director Jake Schreier having confirmed that the studio is already looking ahead to multiple X-Men films, the two young stars are just the type of talent they need to lead the MCU into the next saga.
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