Christopher Abbott Reportedly Cast As Professor X, With A New Storm Rumor Landing Right Before D23

Published 17 August 2026. Words like "tonight" or "next week" refer to that date.

When D23 kicked off on August 15, the word was that the panel that night would be the only thing anyone talked about as far as movie news goes. Right before the show even started, a leak surfaced claiming Professor X has already been cast, and there's also a brand new rumor about who could play Storm.

This matters because Marvel Studios is expected to finally start unveiling its X-Men reboot cast, and after a huge Comic-Con showing that included Avengers: Doomsday footage and the Ryan Gosling Ghost Rider reveal, fans have been waiting to see if the mutants get the same treatment.

Christopher Abbott Reportedly Locked In As Charles Xavier

Christopher Abbott has been rumored for Professor X for a while now, but it looks like he actually got the part. According to a report from The Playlist, several reliable sources say an X-Men related announcement is coming during D23, and while the full main cast hasn't been locked down, a partial reveal is likely. The Playlist reports that Abbott, 40, is expected to be announced as the MCU's Charles Xavier. He previously appeared in a Marvel project, playing the Foreigner in Kraven the Hunter, and his other credits include Wolfman, Poor Things, Bring Them Down and Catch-22. When asked about the casting rumors, Abbott reportedly told The Playlist, "Depends on what day or moment you catch me on. Right now, I'd say I think I believe in Jake and Sunny so much that I would love to work with them again in more times."

A New Storm Rumor Points To Poor Things Star Susie Bemah

There's also a new name in the Storm conversation. According to insider Jeff Schneider, French actress Susie Bemah is in the mix to play Ororo Munroe, though nothing is confirmed. Schneider also floated that Black Panther 3 director Ryan Coogler may have a hand in picking Storm, which lines up with earlier rumors that she could debut in the next Black Panther movie before factoring into the second X-Men film. Bemah is known for Poor Things, Homecoming and the horror film Candisha, was born in 2000, and was named one of Europe's 10 Shooting Stars in 2024. She's also the founder of an actors' association set up to support French performers and improve protections on film sets. There had also been talk of an actress from Sinners being in the mix for Storm, though neither I nor Winston A. Marshall could recall her name on the show. Out of everyone floated so far, I said Bemah is the one I like best, mainly because of her age. If she's cast, it tells you they're leaning toward a younger Storm who's roughly the same age as Sadie Sink, rather than the older, teacher version of the character. Winston said he's fully on board too, adding that a lot of fans have pointed out Storm is typically depicted as darker-skinned in the comics, and that while both Alexandra Shipp and Halle Berry did great jobs, he's glad Marvel appears to be going this route and keeping the young cast roughly the same age.

The Rest Of The Rumored X-Men Cast

Assuming the Abbott report is accurate, he'll reportedly join Samara Weaving, Kit Connor and Sadie Sink, who are said to make up the reboot's core team based on the original comic book crew, with characters like Rogue, Storm and possibly Jubilee introduced later in the film. Charles Melton is also believed to be in contention to play Hank McCoy, better known as Beast. Winston said he'd like to see Marvel go with a true "core five" lineup, giving characters like Iceman and Angel real development after both were largely wasted in past X-Men films, calling Angel's treatment in The Last Stand and Apocalypse disappointing. I agreed, and predicted that if Marvel does go this route, Sadie Sink will be the first name announced on stage tonight rather than Abbott, since she'll get the biggest pop from the crowd coming off Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

What Else Could Show Up During Tonight's Disney Entertainment Showcase

The Disney Entertainment Showcase runs from 7 to 9 p.m. and covers Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and Disney animation in one two-hour block. I said Vision Quest getting a trailer is a given, and I'd also expect Daredevil: Born Again season 3 to get attention. As for the Doomsday footage shown at Comic-Con, I put the odds at 95% that D23's in-person crowd sees it again, and initially guessed a 55% chance it gets released publicly online, while Winston argued for 60 to 70%, reasoning that once a rough leaked version got out after Hall H, Marvel might as well release a proper cut.

Ahsoka Season 2's Anakin Costume Hints At More Clone Wars Flashbacks

A D23 show floor display gave a first look at what appears to be Anakin Skywalker's snowsuit from the Clone Wars animated series, alongside costumes for Baylan Skoll, Grand Admiral Thrawn, the Great Mother, one of the Nine Sisters and Ahsoka herself. Hayden Christensen is already confirmed to return as Anakin's Force Ghost after his season 1 arc guiding Ahsoka through the World Between Worlds, but this costume suggests an actual flashback to the Clone Wars era. I mentioned that our show flagged Anakin and Obi-Wan appearing in this series roughly two years before anyone else picked up on it.

Is Star Wars Shifting Away From Live-Action TV?

Based on additional information shared on the show, it sounds like Disney and Dave Filoni have an understanding where Ahsoka stays the niche, hardcore-fan-focused live-action series, while the bigger push going forward is on movies and event-level stories. Star Wars: Starfighter is expected to get a public teaser at D23, but the Ahsoka season 2 teaser reportedly will only be shown inside the actual panel rather than released publicly. I said that strategy makes sense as long as Filoni doesn't wait too long to eventually put the Ahsoka footage out, since Starfighter shouldn't bury it forever.

Could A New Star Wars Trilogy Be Announced Tonight?

I argued that Star Wars needs a real win at D23 rather than just leaning on Ahsoka, and that the smartest move would be closing the presentation by officially confirming Episodes 10, 11 and 12 are happening, ideally with Simon Kinberg's name attached to mapping out the story. Kinberg has a long history with Lucasfilm and reportedly loved Andor, and he wrote for Star Wars Rebels, but I pointed out his movie writing track record, including Dark Phoenix, X-Men: Apocalypse and The 355, makes me nervous about him writing the trilogy himself rather than producing and outlining it for other writers and directors.

I also floated that Ryan Coogler could show up at D23 twice, once to discuss X-Files, since there have been rumors that David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson could appear as Mulder and Scully, and again to introduce Storm ahead of Black Panther 3.

Which Storm rumor do you believe: Susie Bemah, the unnamed Sinners actress, or someone else entirely?