Gus Fring. Lex Luthor. Moff Gideon. Stan Edgar. The acclaimed actor that has brought all of these legendary villains to life, Giancarlo Esposito, is the latest name that has surfaced in association with a potential role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But this isn’t some unfounded rumor, as Esposito himself divulged that he had met with Marvel and even admitted which characters were suggested for him.
During an appearance at TJH’s Superhero Car Show & Comic Con in San Antonio, TX, Esposito told the audience:
“So, I have not worked for Marvel yet. I’ve been in a room with them and talked with them, and to answer your question, I think what they do is on the lines of that mythological journey that Joe Campbell talked about, who happened to be a friend of George Lucas that George Lucas put into his stories. They do the same thing.”
Esposito would make a fine addition to the MCU in any role, but he revealed:
“So, there’s been talk of Magneto, there’s been talk of Dr. Freeze, there has been talk of—who else are they talking about over there? Oh, Doom! And there is … Professor X.”
Well, there is no Dr. Freeze. Perhaps he has also met with DC about a role as Mister Freeze? It’s certainly possible. Esposito is a hot commodity, so he’s probably taking meetings all over Hollywood for various projects. He could have just gotten them mixed up.
While Esposito has played a variety of roles, he is best known for embodying some of the vilest villains in media. So Magneto and Dr. Doom would make perfect sense. But it seems that Esposito wants to tackle a new type.
When pressed, Esposito said:
“Pick one? I’m going to go for something that is a little bit different. I’m gonna go and put it out in the universe that it is Professor X.”
The way he phrased it sounds as though he’s still lobbying for the role and wants the public to support him. However, there have been rumors flying for a couple of weeks that Esposito and Denzel Washington were being considered for the roles of Magneto and Professor X, but it was unclear which part each would play. After all, both are so talented and multifaceted that either could kill both roles. Personally, I would like to see Esposito as Xavier and Washington (in full Training Day mode) as Magneto.
Now the race issue will surely arise regarding these three characters. Doctor Doom is the king of an Eastern European country. But that could be altered. Hell, they altered the crap out of Doom in both previous Fantastic Four films. What’s one more change?
Magneto has typically had his origins tied to the Jewish concentration camps in World War II, but at this point, I think they need to drop that unless they want a 100-year-old Magneto. It has been suggested by fans that the story be shifted to either the genocide in Rwanda or to the civil rights movement in the United States. (Even that seems like it’s too far in the past, honestly.)
With Xavier, beyond the fact that the character comes from old money, there isn’t a huge reason that would dictate that he needs to be Caucasian.
Just a side note, at the time that the Esposito/Washington rumors popped up, it was also rumored that Glen Powell (Hangman in Top Gun: Maverick) was being eyed to play Scott Summers/Cyclops.
Fantastic Four has been announced as the kickoff to Marvel’s Phase Six. No X-Men projects have officially been revealed yet, but that may come at D23 in just over a month.
For the time being, take all this with a grain of salt. But what do you think of Giancarlo Esposito potentially playing Charles Xavier or another character from the MCU?
