We know that Marvel Studios is on their way to rebooting the X-Men franchise for the MCU, and a lot of fans have been curious about who they would cast to be the next face of mutants onscreen.
One popular fancast has been Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) for Professor X and Denzel Washington (Equalizer) as Magneto. We don’t know what Washington has to say about the casting yet, but Esposito gives his two cents.
Talking to the podcast Fade to Black (via @DiscussingFilm), Esposito was asked about the fancasting, to which he replied it ‘would be great.’ But he also adds that he would want his Professor X to be able to walk around. He comments, “The physical idea of being in a wheelchair every single day does not appeal to me. I just don’t feel that old & I don’t like to sit that much.”
Admittedly, a lot of fans are against casting someone other than a Jewish actor to play Magneto in any adaptation, but some think that, in order to keep the character relevant, they could update his origin so that he experiences his trauma during the Civil Rights movement rather than WWII—comparing Magneto and Charles to the dynamic between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King.
I definitely understand both sides of the argument around the characters’ ethnicity, but personally I do think that they should update these characters to reflect modern times. Otherwise, Magneto would just have to get ridiculously old in the films—or have to be a time traveller.
We’ll just have to wait and see what Marvel does. In the meantime, no release date has been set for the next X-Men movie, but Deadpool & Wolverine comes out July 26.
