MarvelBlog News for August 21st, 2026

And just like that, we know almost all the X-Men!

We’re going to talk about all the new Mutants in MarvelBlog News.

Not Those New Mutants

Some elements of this story may sound familiar to you, as they happened not long ago.

In 2016, Marvel eyed a pair of ascending actresses for a new film franchise.

The New Mutants would eventually star Maisie Williams and Anya Taylor-Joy.

A decade ago, you’d have been hard-pressed to name two bigger talents in that age range.

Williams anchored the Stark family on Game of Thrones at the time.

Taylor-Joy, while less famous at the time, was coming off The Witch and would appear in Split that year.

Charlie Heaton of Stranger Things also appeared in the film.

Fox undeniably nailed the casting…and then everything went wrong.

History will remember The New Mutants as one of the greatest What Ifs of the 2010s.

A series of unlikely delays wrecked the film’s buzz to the point that it became irredeemable.

That’s unfortunate because the film’s better than its reputation, at least in my opinion.

Rotten Tomatoes critics disagree with me, grading it at 36 percent.

The quality is irrelevant, really, as The New Mutants bombed at the box office.

The $80 million production earned a modest $49.2 million at the box office.

The point here is that nothing is ever certain, even when something looks great on paper.

Still, if I were a betting man, I’d put a lot of money on history not repeating itself.

Marvel just announced the cast of the X-Men movie coming in 2028.

Let’s just say that it’s one of the best casts Marvel could have hired.

I’m deeply impressed. So, let’s talk about all of them.

Watch Obsession

Have you watched Obsession yet? If not, what are you waiting for? It’s excellent!

The key to the whole story is the daring performance by Inde Navarrette.

She plays a normal young woman who happens to be the victim of someone else’s desire.

That individual makes a wish, and it turns her into their sex slave…with unintended consequences.

Several of Navarrette’s actions in this film have become viral memes.

She innately understood her purpose in the film and elevated it to an impossible degree.

Produced for $750,000, Obsession is closing in on $500 million in global box office.

In terms of pure profitability, it’s one of the most successful films of the 21^st century.

I mention all this because someone at Marvel did something brilliant here.

They locked up Navarrette for the long term by signing her into the MCU.

From this point forward, Navarrette will play Rogue in the X-Men films. Here’s the reveal:

Obviously, Marvel made several jaw-dropping announcements at once.

I’m highlighting Navarrette’s casting due to my own personal bias and the crowd reaction.

Everyone knows that she’s the hottest star in Hollywood right this second.

Marvel is striking while the iron is hot with her casting, and it’s a masterstroke.

As referenced above, her presence here doesn’t guarantee anything, but it’s an incredible start.

The D23 Recap

Marvel also revealed that Adam Driver will play Mister Sinister in the film.

Presumably, Driver will play the X-Men’s antagonist in the franchise, although Marvel sometimes surprises.

Speaking of which, Sadie Sink came onstage to reveal what we already knew.

She’s officially Jean Grey in the MCU, and Samara Weaving is Emma Frost.

Similarly, Marvel confirmed Kit Connor in the role of Cyclops, but that’s not all.

We also learned that Christopher Abbott will play Professor Charles Xavier.

Finally, Broadway actress Maya Boyd will play Storm in the franchise.

Let’s just say that the audience reaction to these announcements exceeded any realistic expectations.

Fans were delirious at the news, especially the presence of Navarrette.

Somehow, that’s not the best part, though. Marvel also confirmed the release date.

X-Men will debut in theaters on May 5^th, 2028. Now that we have a cast, that’s viable.

Marvel also went and revealed that Ghost Rider will debut later that summer.

The Ryan Gosling/Shawn Levy movie will debut on July 28^th, 2028.

Since we’re also getting Black Panther 3 that December, Marvel’s 2028 lineup suddenly looks stacked.

My one word of caution here is that 2025 looked phenomenal on paper, too.

Still, the success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day appears to have reinvigorated Marvel.

Even better, the fans appear totally reinvested again after a rough start to the 2020s.

Marvel Miscellany

Speaking of Spider-Man, The Wrap just recently reported something stunning.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has crossed $2 billion at the box office.

In the process, actor Tom Holland has reportedly made more than $100 million.

As previously reported, Holland renegotiated his Spider-Man contract with Sony.

Since he had all the leverage, he made sure to get a cut of the action.

Given the blockbuster success of the movie, which will finish in the top three all-time, Holland is rich.

We’re talking island fortress rich. And that brings me to the other interesting news.

The ticket sales for Avengers: Doomsday are reportedly outpacing Brand New Day’s record-setting performance.

I’ll add the caveat that it’s not a one-to-one comparison for a weird reason.

The Avengers movie actually released tickets for its best theaters a month ago.

The rest of the tickets went on sale last week, whereas Spider-Man did them all at once.

So, it’s really a month of Avengers versus a couple of days of Brand New Day.

Still, Marvel has undeniably had a great ten days, and things are finally looking up.

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Image: Focus Features