Photo Credit: David Marquez / Marvel Comics
A new rumor about the X-Men reboot’s cast suggests that Barbie star Emma Mackey is being eyed for a role. Although the cast for the MCU reboot hasn’t been finalized, a director has been found, Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier. Notably, rumors about the film’s casting have also suggested names like Jack Champion and Margaret Qualley for key roles.
X-Men reboot rumored to be eyeing Emma Mackey for a lead role
In the December 24 episode of John Rocha’s podcast, he asked renowned industry scooper Jeff Sneider about the X-Men reboot’s casting news.
In response, Sneider said on The Hot Mic podcast that fans should “keep an eye on” Barbie actress Emma Mackey. Notably, she recently starred in Ella McCay, which flopped at the box office.
Interestingly, Mackey was reportedly a frontrunner for the role of Lois Lane in James Gunn’s Superman. She tested alongside other actresses like Phoebe Dynevor and Rachel Brosnahan. However, the role ultimately went to Brosnahan, who appeared opposite David Corenswet (via The Hollywood Reporter).
This rumor about Emma Mackey being a contender for a role in the X-Men reboot comes one month after notable scooper MyTimetoShineHello shared on X (formerly Twitter) that Marvel Studios was reportedly looking for “big names” to star in the reboot. They added that the script was being rewritten and that casting would officially commence in early 2026.
Moreover, Jake Schreier confirmed in an interview with Empire several months ago that he started development on the X-Men reboot. While he didn’t divulge details about the film, he called it “very, very exciting.”
Schreier also stressed how Thunderbolts* taught him how to handle an ensemble film, noting that he was unfamiliar with “many things” before working on it. He added, “The biggest learning curve for me was the proportion of the action to the more emotional, character-driven scenes.”
The Paper Towns director continued, “And how, even though it’s more shooting days than I’ve ever had, they get eaten up quite quickly by the action stuff. By the time we got to the end of it, it felt like, ‘Oh, now I feel like we get how to do this a little bit better.’”
Meanwhile, the X-Men reboot currently has no official release date or window. However, it will reportedly come out after 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars.
