After a fan encounter with Giancarlo Esposito at a convention in Chile, fans are wondering if the actor unintentionally confirmed he's been cast as Professor X.
Giancarlo Esposito is best known for playing calculated villains like Gus Fring in Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, but what if he played a calculated good guy for once? Many fans have been hoping Esposito might play Professor X in the MCU, and a recent fan encounter has speculation kicking into overdrive. CBR.com reported that a fan at Comic Con Chile 2022 asked Esposito to sign a Funko Pop! of Charles Xavier, to which Esposito obliged saying “See you on the big screen.”
While that encounter is anything but official confirmation, it doesn’t mean that fans aren’t going to take the interaction and run with it. Plus, Giancarlo Esposito has expressed his interest in playing the character before and confirmed that he has met with Marvel Studios execs about potentially appearing in a mystery project. Frankly, Esposito would be perfect for the role, so it’s no surprise that fans are pushing for it.
Professor X did recently appear in the MCU during Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, played by Patrick Stewart who reprised the role once again. Of course, this was a multiverse version of Professor X, so it’s entirely possible that Giancarlo Esposito could play the prime universe version in the MCU we know. One way or another, Marvel is planning on bringing X-Men and mutants into the ongoing MCU story, so Professor X will inevitably have to be part of that.
Even if Giancarlo Esposito knew he was going to be playing Professor X, he’d have to remain coy about it and not actually reveal anything. Marvel is known for keeping a tight lid on their future stories, with leaks often being the only way fans can confirm any theories. Still, Marvel isn’t opposed to playing into fan demand, as evidenced by John Krasinski’s appearance as Mr. Fantastic aka Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
While not every fan-casting theory is going to come to fruition, Giancarlo Esposito seems like one of those things that just feel right. In the meantime, we have official confirmation that Hugh Jackman would be reprising his role as Wolverine in Deadpool 3, so that’s at least one member of the X-Men that will be appearing in an upcoming MCU film. We also have Ms. Marvel aka Khamala Khan confirmed to be a mutant and Namor, who was revealed to have the mutant gene in the comics, is coming soon in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
We’ll just have to wait and see if Giancarlo Esposito will end up playing the lead of the X-Men and one of their most powerful mutants. Until then, we can look forward to seeing Esposito reprise a villainous role in another major Disney-owned franchise when he returns for The Mandalorian Season 3 in 2023. Esposito will once again be playing Moff Gideon, who is sure to cause problems for Mando and Grogu after they managed to escape his Dark Troopers (with the help of a certain blonde, green lightsaber-wielding Jedi) at the end of Season 2.
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