Kit Connor in Talks to Play Cyclops in Marvel’s X-Men Reboot

Kit Connor, the breakout star of Netflix’s Heartstopper, is in negotiations to portray Cyclops (Scott Summers) in Marvel Studios’ upcoming X-Men reboot, multiple outlets have confirmed.

The casting, first reported by The Hollywood Reporter and later corroborated by Deadline, would place the young actor at the center of director Jake Schreier’s new mutant ensemble — a clear signal that Marvel is betting on a younger generation to carry its X-Men franchise forward.

Connor would join a rapidly assembling cast that includes Samara Weaving as the villain-turned-hero Emma Frost and Sadie Sink as Jean Grey.

Sink’s telepathic mutant made her MCU debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, a film whose ending reportedly leads directly into the X-Men movie.

Should his deal close, Connor will play the optic-blast-wielding leader of the team opposite Sink’s Jean Grey, a pairing that mirrors the characters’ canonical romance in Marvel Comics.

Legacy Meets New Era

The potential casting carries particular weight given the franchise’s history. James Marsden, who originated the role in 2000’s X-Men and its sequels, is set to reprise Cyclops in this December’s Avengers: Doomsday alongside fellow legacy cast members Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), and Rebecca Romijn (Mystique).

That film, which bridges the old 20th Century Fox era with the new Marvel Studios direction, will feature multiple mutants from the prior film series before the studio reboots the team with a younger cast.

Tye Sheridan previously played a younger Cyclops in the 2010s X-Men films, while Ray Chase currently voices the character in the Disney+ animated series X-Men ‘97, whose second season concludes Aug. 12.

Connor’s iteration would mark the first time the character is introduced within the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s main timeline.

From Heartstopper to the MCU

Connor joins his Heartstopper co-star Joe Locke in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Locke debuted as Billy Maximoff, the magic-wielding son of Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff, in the Disney+ series Agatha All Along.

The Netflix show has proven a pipeline of talent to Marvel: it also featured Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter) and Olivia Colman (Sonya Falsworth).

Within the narrative of Heartstopper, Connor’s character Nick Nelson is himself a devoted Marvel fan — a meta detail that fans are already relishing.

This marks the first standalone X-Men film since Disney acquired 21st Century Fox in 2019.

Marvel Studios has gradually introduced mutant characters into the MCU, beginning with 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine and continuing with this year’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

The next two Avengers films are expected to set the stage for a proper X-Men reboot, with Doomsday serving as the bridge between the old guard and the new.

Beyond Heartstopper, Connor has been building a varied résumé that includes the upcoming war film Warfare and a stage run in Romeo & Juliet.

Studio representatives declined to comment on the casting, which remains unconfirmed by Marvel.

Inde Navarrette, star of the Netflix series Obsession, has publicly stated she met with Schreier and expressed interest in playing Mystique, suggesting the casting process remains active.

Sources

• Variety
• Entertainment Weekly