Sometimes the fan campaigning really works, though in this case, the fan is actor Giancarlo Esposito, known for his roles in “Breaking Bad,” and “The Mandalorian.” In the last year or more, Esposito has made it no secret that he’s been eager to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, seemingly talking it up every chance he gets and telling audiences. Previously, the actor revealed he had met with Marvel Studios and said he was keen to play a new version of Professor X in the “X-Men” movies. But those films are some years away, maybe as far away as 2028 and sometime after “Avengers: Secret Wars.”
But during a recent CCXP panel in Mexico, attended by Collider, Esposito updated fans by announcing that he has officially joined the MCU in an undisclosed mystery role. The actor said the secretive new role should be announced “sooner rather than later,” adding that it will be “better than you can imagine.” Esposito also noted that the role will be an “original and new character” via LouAlpizar, a fan attending at CCXP.
“Sooner rather than later” could mean an appearance in any number of films, but it likely doesn’t mean his coveted “X-Men” part, and could mean forthcoming Marvel films being shot now or going into production soon like “The Fantastic Four,” “Thunderbolts” or “Blade.”
A new original character certainly takes a lot of possibilities off the table, however. Open casting for “The Fantastic Four” is said to include the villains Doctor Doom and Galactus, but those are certainly very well-known characters. Some new speculation includes some kind of military commander in the “Thunderbolts” anti-heroes film or some kind of dark vampiric force in the “Blade” movie starring Mahershala Ali. Films that he likely isn’t part of, but who knows, could include the already shot and upcoming “Deadpool & Wolverine,” and “Captain American: Brave New World” (though that one is undergoing extensive reshoots in May, so it’s anyone’s guess).
Most guesses point at something villainous as that is primarily Esposito’s stock and trade. The actor was most recently seen in a similar role, the Machiavellian, elegant, and debonair billionaire Stanley Johnston in Guy Ritchie’s “The Gentleman.”