Giancarlo Esposito seemingly confirms he is playing X Men’s Professor X in Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rumour mills have been abuzz for a while that Giancarlo Esposito, known for his negative roles in Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian, has been roped in to play Professor Charles Xavier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It has been known for a while that the X-Men are coming to the franchise and it is almost certain that new actors will take over the roles now. Giancarlo has been linked to the role for a few months now. Also read: Patrick Stewart confirms he is playing Professor X in Marvel Cinematic Universe

In August this year, Giancarlo confirmed to the media that he had indeed met Marvel executives for talks about a possible role in the MCU. He indicated his interest in playing Professor X apart from Doctor Doom and Magneto. These characters were all with 20th Century Fox and not Marvel but with the recent Disney-Fox merger, the rights have come to the MCU, paving the way for the characters to be used in the franchise.

As per a ComicBookResource report, the actor made an appearance at Comic Con Chile where he was asked by a fan to sign a Funko Pop figure of Professor X. Eyewitnesses say Giancarlo laughed heartily before signing the action figure and then adding, “See you on the big screen.” Many fans are interpreting this line as a confirmation from the actor that he is indeed playing the iconic character in the MCU.

Professor X has appeared in several X-Men films produced by Fox from 2000-17 with Patrick Stewart playing the original version of the character and James McAvoy appearing as his younger version. Patrick appeared as a different version of the character in the MCU in a cameo appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which released earlier this year. However, the veteran actor has stated that the return was a one-off and he is unlikely to take over the mantle in the MCU permanently.