Marvel's X-Men Reboot Eyes Heartstopper And Elden Ring Actor To Play Cyclops

Marvel's forthcoming "X-Men" reboot has added a key member to the team. Folks, meet your new Cyclops. Kit Connor, known best for his role in the Netflix series "Heartstopper," has reportedly been cast to play the fan-favorite Mutant and leader of Charles Xavier's famed team.

The news was first reported by Deadline. Connor is said to have landed the role last week after meeting with Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige, as well as director Jake Schreier ("Thunderbolts*"), who will be at the helm for the much-anticipated reboot. It had previously been reported that Marvel's "X-Men" movie was eyeing Drew Starkey ("The Terminal List") for Cyclops, but that evidently didn't pan out.

Connor joins a cast that already includes "Ready or Not" star Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, and there have been rumors that Charles Melton ("May December") may play Beast and Cailee Spaeny ("Alien: Romulus") is up for the role of Rogue. Another key member of the team has also been cast, but that would get into spoiler territory for fans who perhaps aren't up to date on everything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe right now, so we'll leave that name out for the time being.

As for Connor, this will be by far his most high-profile role to date. Some of his other notable projects include the Elton John biopic "Rocketman" and A24's war movie "Warfare," along with the upcoming big-budget movie adaptation of the "Elden Ring" video game property. He also starred in HBO's "His Dark Materials" TV series, in addition to lending his voice to "The Wild Robot."

Ever since Disney's historic $71.3 billion deal to acquire Fox went into effect in 2019, Marvel fans have been waiting for the "X-Men" to join the MCU. Disney and Marvel Studios have exercised patience in that department, but with the Multiverse Saga coming to a close with this year's "Avengers: Doomsday" and next year's "Avengers: Secret Wars" concluding this particular chapter, the Mutants will finally have their time to shine.

One thing that stands out thus far is that Marvel appears to be going young with a lot of the core casting, with actors in their early-to-mid 20s. The hope, it appears, is to build a team that could play these roles for a long time to come. Marvel Studios clearly believes the mutants will be a huge part of its future, though they're not the only part.

During last month's San Diego Comic-Con, the post-"Secret Wars" MCU started to take shape as well. Marvel's "Ghost Rider" reboot starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Shawn Levy is coming in 2028. It was also confirmed that "Black Panther III" is happening and will star David Jonsson as the son of T'Challa (who's also named T'Challa). That one will hit theaters in December 2028, with Ryan Coogler once again returning to direct.

Essentially, we've got Mutants, Johnny Blaze, and the son of Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa all grown up to look forward to. Pieces of the puzzle of the next saga in the MCU are slowly but surely beginning to come together. With any luck, we'll learn more about the "X-Men" reboot soon, most likely during D23 later this month. Stay tuned.

The "X-Men" movie reboot doesn't currently have a release date.