Kit Connor is in talks to join the cast of Marvel Studio’s “X-Men” as Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, TheWrap has learned.
Should a deal happen, the “Heartstopper” star would join Samara Weaving who is playing Emma Frost.
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Cyclops first appeared in 1963’s “X-Men #1.” He is one of the founding members of the X-Men and is considered the longtime tactical leader of the mutant supergroup. He has powerful optic blasts as a result of head trauma he suffered when his parents were attacked by an alien spacecraft.
“Thunderbolts*” director Jake Schreier is attached to direct the project. “Beef” creator and writer Lee Sung Jin has been tapped, alongside writer Joanna Calo, to tackle a new draft of the script.
The “X-Men” film franchise began in 2000 with “X-Men,” directed by Bryan Singer. The first film introduced audiences to a world in which mutants — humans born with genetic abilities — live alongside ordinary people and focused on Professor Charles Xavier’s X-Men as they attempted to stop their rival, Magneto, from escalating tensions between mutants and humans. The film was praised for its serious, character-driven take on the superhero genre.
In total, the franchise has grossed more than $6 billion worldwide across more than a dozen films, including spinoffs and the “Deadpool” movies. Once considered B-list superheroes, the X-Men helped pave the way for comic book and superhero blockbusters to be taken more seriously by critics and audiences. The films’ themes of diversity, identity and “otherness” also resonated deeply with many viewers.
Best known for breaking out in Netflix’s “Heartstopper,” Connor recently reprised the role in a movie spinoff “Heartstopper Forever.” Other credits include A24’s war movie “Warfare,” and the upcoming video game adaptation “Elden Ring.”
Connor is repped by WME and Independent Talent Group.
Deadline first reported the news.
