Adam Driver will make a long-anticipated entrance into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to play supervillain Mister Sinister, and Obsession breakout star Inde Navarrette will play Rogue in Disney's forthcoming film reboot of X-Men.

Driver and Navarrette were among the new cast members announced on Saturday (Aug 15), Singapore time, at Disney's D23 convention by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, along with Driver's Girls castmate Christopher Abbott as Professor Charles Xavier and Maya Boyd as Storm. The film is slated for release in May 2028.

Driver's name was often rumoured and often dismissed as an X-Men possibility. Many thought he'd be playing the antihero Magneto. The rest of the cast appeared on stage at the Honda Center arena in Anaheim, California, while Driver appeared on a big screen.

“Kevin and I had been talking for years about my joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I think we finally found the perfect film,” Driver told the crowd of 12,000 via video. 

“So I’m very excited to be playing the role of Maaagneto!” he said before pausing, taking it back and saying, “even better, Nathaniel Millbury,” an alias for Mister Sinister.

Also on stage were previously announced cast members Samara Weaving, who is playing Emma Frost; Kit Connor, who is playing Scott “Cyclops” Summers; and Sadie Sink, whose role as Jean Grey was revealed by her appearance in this summer’s Marvel megahit Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The castmates were as new to each other as they were to the fans.

“They’ve just met backstage for the very first time,” Feige said.

Navarrette had also been heavily rumoured to have a role after fast becoming one of Hollywood's most sought-after actors for her striking performance as a spellbound girlfriend in the indie horror hit Obsession earlier this year.

The X-Men joining the MCU became possible with Disney's 2019 acquisition of Fox's film studio.

Director Jake Schreier is heading the reboot, and two writers from prestige TV  – Beef creator Lee Sung-jin and The Bear co-showrunner Joanna Calo – are working on the script.

Gosling cosplays as Kade Auberon in Star Wars presentation

Ryan Gosling and director Shawn Levy headlined the Star Wars portion of the night with a presentation for their film Star Wars: Starfighter, which is set for a May 2027 release.

Gosling's appearance on stage was preceded by clips of him as a child cast member of The Mickey Mouse Club.

“I owe a lot to Disney," Gosling said. "Had they not looked far and wide and come to my hometown, I would not be here today. Now, 30 years later, I'm back, and it's changing my life again.”

Shawn Levy put a leather jacket on Gosling with his Star Wars character Kade Auberon's skull-and-bones symbol.

Gosling described Auberon as “a guy from the wrong side of the galaxy, whose fate is intertwined with the fastest Starfighter ever built” before showing clips from the film.

Disney announced earlier this summer at its San Diego Comic-Con presentation that Gosling will play the character Ghost Rider in a 2028 MCU film that Levy will also direct.

Star Wars: Ahsoka star Rosario Dawson also appeared to promote the second season of her Disney+ series, as did Hayden Christensen, who will return as a force-ghost version of her mentor Anakin Skywalker.

More Marvel with classic stars Downey, Evans, Atwell and Bettany

Avengers stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr and Hayley Atwell introduced a new trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, to be released Dec 18.

The footage shows Downey, as Doctor Doom, beating back Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. Also seen in the new clip are Evans holding a baby and Ian McKellen as a long-haired and haggard Magneto.

Hugh Jackman appeared on the big screen to tell Feige he's willing to appear in Doomsday as Wolverine.

Whether he'll be in the movie has led to heated fan speculation. His answer wasn't definitive, but most bets are now switching to yes.

Fans also got a glimpse of the soon-to-drop Disney+ series Visionquest. Paul Bettany and James Spader, who return as Vision and Ultron respectively, showed a trailer with human and ordinary versions of their cybernetic characters. 

Bettany said it’s been a pleasure to play multiple versions of Vision, who has “rather inconveniently died several times.” But, he said, “I'm told in the Marvel Universe that no one is ever really dead.”

Frozen 3 stars serenade fans, sort of

Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel sang an eerie new arrangement of Frozen Heart from the first Frozen film, reprising their roles as princess sisters Anna and Elsa as they introduced the forthcoming Frozen 3.

Or they tried to, anyway. The segment was plagued with malfunctioning audio, video, and a set of doors that failed to open.

They ad-libbed their way through it like pros.

“Should we go back and try it again?” Menzel asked at the song's end.

Bell described for the crowd everything that was supposed to happen and said, “You guys were gonna freak out.”

They found their way back to the script.

“Doesn't it kind of feel like the world of Frozen is a bit different?” Bell said. Menzel added, “Maybe a little bit more mysterious?”

“Yes, okay, we're back on track,” Bell said, to big laughs.

Their castmate Josh Gad followed with a rendition of Oooh, Samantha, a love song his snowman character Olaf will sing in Frozen 3.

Source: CNA

-Agencies