When The New Mutants is finally released this month, the Fox X-Men series will have come to an end. But don’t think you’ll be waiting too long before the mutants are back on the big screen. Disney now owns the rights to the characters and it’s inevitable that they’ll appear in the MCU sometime in the 2020s. Exactly when that’ll be remains a mystery, though you can be assured that there’s behind-the-scenes work happening right now on the best way to slot them into the MCU.
Of course, one facet that must be being considered is casting. Fox absolutely nailed finding actors for key characters like Wolverine, Professor X and Magneto and there’s now pressure on Marvel Studios to do the same. Over the weekend, WGTC brought you the news that Shia LaBeouf is being eyed for the role of Iceman and now, trusted insider Daniel Richtman has seemingly backed up our scoop, teasing the same thing on his Twitter account.
Blue Beetle and Iceman š https://t.co/IhGi5DKxZW
— Daniel Richtman (@DanielRPK) August 13, 2020
Audiences will no doubt be familiar with Iceman as he had a minor role in the first three X-Men movies andĀ Days of Future Past, played by Shawn Ashmore. This casting rumor has already thrown up a bit of controversy though, as Iceman is gay in the comics and there’s a push to cast gay actors as gay characters. We’ll have to see if this shakes out, then. Personally, I’d like to see LaBeouf play a more violent, feral and adamantium-laced hero…
In any case, I hope we get some clarification on what Marvel Studios’ plans are soon. It remains to be seen how they’re going to add mutants to the MCU as it’ll stretch credibility if they claim they’ve secretly been there all along. My bet is that we may get a better idea as the limits of the MCU expand in Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness, due in 2022. Until then, let’s hope the MCU’sĀ X-Men are a distinctively different take than we’ve seen before.