Giancarlo Esposito Has Been in Conversations With Marvel Studios, Hints at Professor X
Over the weekend, Emmy nominee Giancarlo Esposito stopped by the TJH Superhero Car Show & Comic Con in San Antonio, Texas, where he teased that he might be working for Marvel sooner rather than later.
A video released on TikTok captured the moment when Esposito was asked about joining the MCU. The actor responded by saying why he thinks the movies and TV shows Marvel Studios is making are so important today, saying:
“So, I have not worked for Marvel yet. I’ve been in a room and talked to them, and to answer your question I think that what they do is on the lines of that mythological journey that Joe Campbell talked about, who happened to be a friend of George Lucas, and that George Lucas put into his stories. They do the same thing, it is our dream and intention to save the world, our environment, to save the world from greedy corporations, to uplift the world and have leadership that thinks about us. For the people, by the people, which means that those future leaders that are in this room right now, right? And so we want to inspire each other, we want to lift each other up, because what happens when that happens, is that then we actually do have a vision and a dream for, then we can actually start to reverse all the things that we have destroyed that will choke us if we don’t change how we move through this universe.
So… there’s been talk of Magneto. There’s been talk of Doctor Freeze, there’s been talk of… who else are they talking about over there? Oh Doom! And… there is… Professor X.
Pick one? I’m gonna go for something that is a little bit different. I’m gonna go, and put it out in the universe, that it is Professor X.”
It is definitely important to mention that Esposito confirmed he has been in talks with Marvel. It seems like this is an approach the studio is taking now, meeting with talent they are interested in working with, and offering them the large pantheon of characters they have. We know that Marvel approached Taron Egerton, and that he may be in the running for Wolverine, but he’s not the only one. The prime example that has already come to fruition is Mahershala Ali, though the process here was actually the opposite one, where Ali approached Marvel and told them he wanted in as Blade. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is also someone they specifically approached for a role.
Now, whether or not those conversations transitioned to an actual deal with Marvel, we’ll have to wait and see. If that had already happened, Esposito would have had to sign an endless number of NDAs that would even prohibit him from talking about the character. That being said, if we can learn anything from the actor we saw on the press tour for The Mandalorian, where he spilled the beans multiple times, there is no stopping Giancarlo Esposito when he’s excited about a role or a project. At the same time, it’s also possible that he let Marvel know that he wants to play Charles Xavier, Marvel didn’t get back to him, and now he’s just lobbying for a role.
A report out there states that Disney cannot move forward with a new iteration of the X-Men before 2025 (Patrick Stewart appearing in Multiverse of Madness was a different situation, because he’d been cast by Fox back in the day), which would mean the characters could potentially appear in the recently-announced Avengers: Secret Wars. The movie, due out November 2025, is currently a complete mystery. But we should keep this in mind too — it will start filming early 2024 at the latest (The Kang Dynasty will most likely start shooting late 2023 to meet its May 2025 release, especially if Marvel wants the VFX as polished as they were for Infinity War), which means that Marvel may already have an idea of who the characters in the movie will be. If they want the X-Men in that and high-profile names like Giancarlo Esposito for some of the roles, they probably need to know as soon as possible to start booking all of the actors.
Giancarlo Esposito is a five-time Emmy-nominated actor, mostly known at the moment for his villain roles in Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul, The Mandalorian, and The Boys. It is not surprising that the actor could be looking for a heroic character (though morally ambiguous at times) like Professor X, instead of more villainous roles like Doctor Doom or Magneto, out of fear of being typecast for the rest of his career. He is also roughly the same age that Patrick Stewart was when 2000’s X-Men came out. Speaking of Stewart, the actor teased that he’s had conversations with Marvel about coming back to the role, which could hint at a possible involvement in Secret Wars, a movie that will lean heavily on the multiverse and multiple iterations of characters (we could even see the entire Illuminati from Multiverse of Madness return).
Following the last episode of Ms. Marvel, the mutants are already starting to be introduced into the MCU. According to a throw-away line in a Deadline report, the studio is already in development of a project tentatively titled The Mutants. Let’s keep in mind, however, that this comes from the same report that hinted at a possible Henry Cavill appearance at Hall H during San Diego Comic-Con to announce his return as Superman, and that Marvel’s Blade movie will actually be titled The Blade, something that Kevin Feige quickly debunked on stage at Comic-Con. That being said, the X-Men are one of the most intriguing aspects of the MCU moving forward, and an announcement of anything X-Men-related at D23 could be very fitting. Fantastic Four news are also expected there, as is the official announcement and trailer of Marvel Studios’ Halloween Special for Disney Plus, which Michael Giacchino directed.
Stay tuned for more news on Marvel Studios.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
