Adam Driver turned Marvel down again and again — here’s why he finally said yes to X-Men
After brushing off Kevin Feige’s pitches for years, Adam Driver finally said yes to the X-Men — and he’s told us exactly what changed his mind.
Now and then, a blockbuster franchise chases after a particular actor so persistently it starts to get a bit comic. Adam Driver and Marvel Studios have shared that sort of running gag for years – but at last, the ritual is over. Driver is officially suiting up as Mr. Sinister (Nathaniel Milbury) in the incoming X-Men film, scheduled for 5th May 2028. The reason he finally signed on? It's got nothing to do with Marvel's usual high-gloss pitch, and everything to do with playground memories and a bit of old-school nineties telly.
Adam Driver announced his role as Mr. Sinister in the next X-Men film at Disney's D23 event.
Why This Time?
So, Marvel boss Kevin Feige has been at this for a while – queue up a Zoom call, dangle a juicy MCU part, wait a day or three, only for Driver to say 'cheers, but no thanks' every single time. Some might call it tradition by this point. But during his recent chat on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Driver finally spilled what changed his mind: his inner child. Or, more specifically, his childhood obsession with the X-Men animated series.
Here's how Driver put it on Kimmel: "I was a big X-Men fan when I was a kid. That was right in my generation.”
Driver reminisced about acting out the original X-Men cartoon with his cousin Tony – one would be Wolverine, the other Sabretooth. So when he got a call that wasn't another random Marvel superhero, but actually X-Men, something clicked. 'This one felt like a right time, and then it’s X-Men,' he said. That connection ran deeper than any of the roles Feige had tried to tempt him with before.
What Sealed the Deal?
It wasn't just nostalgia doing the heavy lifting. Driver also gave props to Jake Schreier, who's directing the project, and described the script as 'really cool.' Throw in the steady hand of Feige and you've got the ingredients that finally managed to do what half the MCU couldn't: lure Driver into the fold.
He's not blind to what comes with the territory, either. Blockbusters of this scale are public sport – if you fumble it, everyone sees. 'A lot of people are going to watch it. And if it’s bad, a lot of people will see you being bad. Plus, I don’t want to mess it up. I’m a huge fan of X-Men,' Driver admitted on air. Not that you’d want to mess about with something you cared about as a kid – makes sense.
- A release date has been set for 5th May 2028.
- Driver's Mr. Sinister joins a cast that also includes Christopher Abbott, Sadie Sink, Inde Navarrette, Maya Boyd, Samara Weaving, and Kit Connor.
- The film is directed by Jake Schreier (the bloke behind Beef, FYI).
Seeing a top-tier actor finally take the plunge on a project for precisely the reason he once watched Saturday morning cartoons? On paper, bizarre – but for once, perfectly straightforward.