When it comes to fan casts, Giancarlo Esposito is no stranger to fans wishing he would be in their favorite properties. He’s often cast as heroes (and villains), and he’s become a name that everyone loves to throw around, and rightfully so. He’s one of our best actors, and he seems to love the worlds that he gets to play in. So, it’s no surprise that the popular rumor going around online right now is that Esposito is in the running to play Charles Xavier in the X-Men reboot that is likely happening in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
MovieWeb first shared the rumor today, and it is currently just that, a rumor. But that doesn’t mean that the fan excitement isn’t there. While we’ve seen Patrick Stewart yet again revive his role as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as Earth-838’s Charles Xavier, the role could still go to Esposito in a longer running film series for the franchise.
And fans have latched on to the idea, sharing their love for it on Twitter and even making art that depicts Esposito as the leader of the X-Men.
From villain to hero
Recently, Esposito has been playing an iconic slate of villains. If he’s not Gus Fring in Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul, he’s bringing Moff Gideon to life in The Mandalorian, and we love to see him be bad. But Professor X would bring a new light to Esposito, and it’d be fun to see him take on the role. While yes, we’ve seen him more recently as some of the most terrifying villains to date, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it in him to play someone like Charles Xavier.
He’s even a bit of a shady character in The Boys, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’ve seen Esposito shine throughout his career, and I think that having him as Charles Xavier could be a fun move for the series. It’s hard to beat the iconic performance that Sir Patrick Stewart brought to the role, but we’ve seen others take on Charles (with X-Men: First Class, which had James McAvoy playing a younger Charles and Michael Fassbender as a younger Magneto).
The rumor does also open up the conversation about who would then play Erik Lehnsherr (a.k.a. Magneto), with fans rightfully wanting a Jewish actor to take on the role, given Erik’s own heritage and connection to the Holocaust in the comics. If Giancarlo Esposito is actually our Charles, there are a few years difference that we can play with for Magneto, but it will be an interesting beginning to the casting of the X-Men and one that excites me for what is to come with their inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Whether or not this is real, the fans and their excitement to cast Esposito in major roles should be a hint to Hollywood that we all need more Giancarlo Esposito in our lives. Like … right now, please!
(featured image: Lucasfilm)
