The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been making solid progress seeding in X-Men references, most notably with the release of Deadpool & Wolverine last year. Eventually though, the day will come when mutants heroes and villains will get the spotlight within the franchise’s main continuity. The MCU’s X-Men movie has been in development for several years now, and it’s been rumored that Mister Sinister will serve as the main antagonist. Now there’s word about who Marvel Studios is looking at to play the role, and I’ll be excited if this ends up being true.
Per online scooper @MyTimeToShineHello (via ComicBookMovie), Marvel Studios is eyeing Javier Bardem to play Sinister in the upcoming Marvel movie. Take this news with a grain of salt for now, but assuming this is legit, it’s also alleged this wouldn’t just be a one-time-only performance from Bardem. Supposedly Sinister is intended to be the big bad in the MCU’s next Saga, so whether Bardem is cast or someone else, this longtime X-Men villain would be sticking around for a while.
Bardem is no stranger to major franchises, having performed in the James Bond flick Skyfall, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid and both Dune movies. It seems like only a matter of time until he leaves his stamp on the superhero genre, and Mister Sinister is definitely a role befitting his talents.
Our own Jason Wiese thought Bardem be a good fit to play Sinister a few years back, mentioning how movies like No Country for Old Men and the aforementioned Skyfall prove how exceptional he is at playing bad guys. So I’m crossing my fingers that Marvel Studios is indeed considering Bardem for Mister Sinister, and I’ll cross them more tightly for him to be cast.
Mister Sinister is one of the few characters who was never adapted during the 20th Century Fox era of X-Men movies. However, there were plans to feature him when that film series was still going, as evidenced by the briefcase in X-Men: Apocalypse’s end-credits scene that belonged to Essex Corp., referring to Sinister’s original name, Nathaniel Essex.
That tease was supposed to set up Channing Tatum’s Gambit movie, which was among the many X-Men projects that was scrapped when Disney acquired. Jon Hamm also confirmed he’d been on deck to portray Sinister in The New Mutants, though no footage of him in character was ever shot.
Last year though, Mister Sinister got some time to shine outside of the comics in X-Men ’97, the continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series that can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription. So the next logical step is to bring this character to the big screen someday, and while we have no idea when the X-Men reboot will be released, I suspect it’s one of the MCU movies scheduled for 2027. Here’s hoping 2025 delivers information that starts to paint a picture of the Marvel movie Michael Lesslie is writing, including if Mister Sinister will be involved.
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