Latest news with #Day-Lewis
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marvel reportedly eyeing four big names for its X-Men movie reboot, and one rumor is so outlandish I'd be astonished if it's true
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A spate of cast rumors concerning Marvel's X-Men movie reboot have emerged online Various leakers claim four big names have been tapped to play a trio of iconic mutants Fans are being advised to take the aforementioned speculation with a big pinch of salt Marvel's X-Men movie reboot is still a few years away. But, after numerous rumors appeared online last week (May 16-21) linking various big-name actors with roles in said film, the latest round of silly season casting is absolutely upon us. The comic giant's iconic mutants are set to play some part in the Multiverse Saga's next two Avengers movies. Indeed, with legacy characters including Patrick Stewart's Professor X and Ian McKellen's Magneto among Avengers: Doomsday's initial 27-strong cast, actors who appeared in 20th Century Fox's now-defunct X-Men franchise will return for one last hurrah before they pass the torch onto the next generation. Despite the fact that Avengers: Doomsday and its sequel Avengers: Secret Wars won't land in theaters until May 2026 and May 2027, Marvel is already scouring the globe (according to industry insiders, anyway) for A-listers to portray the X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Now, before we dig into these rumors, I should point out that it's not the actors who've been linked with each role that have irked me. They're all incredibly talented individuals, so I've no problem with any of them. My gripe relates to the fact that the next X-Men film is still years away, yet this is just the start of what I expect to be hundreds of stars reportedly tapped to appear as part of the mutant ensemble. But back to the rumors in hand. The first – and certainly the most eyebrow-raising – piece of gossip that's appeared online comes from prominent leaker MyTimeToShineHello (MTTSH). According to the industry insider, whose recent track record can be described as 'mixed' at best, none other than Daniel Day-Lewis was being eyed to succeed McKellen and fellow Magneto actor Michael Fassbender as the metal-manipulating big a coup as it would be for Marvel to persuade Day-Lewis to join the MCU, this particular piece of speculation feels like unlikely, to say the least. The award-winning actor announced his retirement from acting over seven years ago and, apart from appearing in Anemone, an upcoming drama directed by his son Ronan, Day-Lewis hasn't starred in another big- or small-screen project since 2017's Phantom Thread. It seems improbable, then, that he'd be coaxed out of retirement in what would likely to be a multi-picture MCU deal. Day-Lewis isn't the only fan-favorite actor who's been linked with a significant role as part of the MCU's new X-Men line-up. Bryan Cranston – yes, he of Breaking Bad and Malcolm in the Middle fame, to name just two of his most notable roles – is said to be in the running to potentially star opposite Day-Lewis as the MCU's Charles Xavier. Again, this seems like an unusual fit for an actor whose best roles have seen him embody morally complex characters. In that sense, playing an X-Men adjacent individual/antagonist, such as Mister Sinister – a role Cranston has previously spoken about wanting to tackle (per Digital Spy) a decade ago – would be a better fit. Then there's speculation about who'll play Ororo Munroe, otherwise known as the iconic weather-manipulating mutant called Storm. Per MainMiddleMan, Marvel has approached Kirby Howell-Baptiste (The Sandman) and Jodie Turner-Smith (Star Wars: The Acolyte) to play her. Now, it would be remiss of me not to say that all of the above should be taken with a massive pinch of salt. For one, another industry leaker – Apocalyptic Horseman – has said they haven't even heard that a cast shortlist has been drawn up by Marvel. Regardless of how accurate Apocalyptic Horseman's sources may be, remember the unrelenting rumor mill about who'd play The Fantastic Four, aka Marvel's First Family, in The Fantastic Four: First Steps and beyond in the MCU? Everyone from Adam Driver and Penn Badgley with linked with playing Reed Richards, while the likes of Margot Robbie and Jodie Comer were supposedly tapped to portray Sue Storm. In the end, such hearsay proved to be nothing more than idle gossip. So, just because Day-Lewis and company have been tentatively linked with roles in the MCU, it doesn't mean they'll actually sign on to appear in films once the Multiverse Saga ends at some point during or after Marvel Phase 6. If Marvel is aiming for a middle ground between the elder acting statespeople who appeared in the first X-Men trilogy and their younger counterparts who starred in Fox's own X-Men reboot, Howell-Baptiste or Turner-Smith would be good fits for a mid-30s Munroe. Where Cranston and Day-Lewis are concerned, though, I'd be amazed if they ink deals to play Professor X and Magneto. We'll have to wait and see if any of these rumors have substance to them. The one thing that's absolutely certain, though, is these won't be the last X-Men casting rumors we read about. It's going to be a long and at times frustrating period of speculation, so strap in for plenty more outlandish rumors in the weeks, months, and even years to come, everyone. In the meantime, find out how to watch the X-Men movies in order and how to watch the Marvel movies in order. Marvel gives exciting update about the MCU's future after Avengers: Secret Wars, and it'll be all about the X-Men: 'It really leads us into a new age of mutants' New Avengers: Doomsday behind-the-scenes images from Robert Downey Jr are getting Marvel fans excited about his portrayal of Doctor Doom Marvel reveals first trailer for its long-gestating Ironheart TV show, but its rumored episodic release format has got me worried
Telegraph
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Sorry Cate Blanchett, but artists should never ‘retire'
In one of several parallel fantasy lives that I live, I have retired. I am 'dividing my time' between London and Southern France (probably Languedoc-Roussillon), with January spent on an island off the coast of Colombia. But I won't have made a fuss about my retreat from the rat race: no grand speeches, no pitying donations on and certainly no leaving drinks. I will have made a French exit. Cate Blanchett, however, has made public the fact that she wants to retire from acting and do other things. The 55-year-old actress is actually making her radio drama debut on the BBC this coming Saturday, but no matter, she told Radio Times that she was serious about leaving a profession at which she has excelled. 'Yeah, right,' I thought, as Blanchett contemplated a Saga holiday to Madeira. Actors are always announcing their retirements, and they rarely mean it. Cameron Diaz 'formally confirmed' she was quitting the biz they call show in 2018, only to return in the execrable – though appropriately named – thriller Back in Action. Daniel Day-Lewis has retired at least twice; the last time was in 2017 after he appeared in the film Phantom Thread, for which he received an Oscar nomination. A representative announced the fact through a slightly pallid statement which expressed 'immense gratitude to all his contributors and audiences over the years'. Surprise, surprise, Day-Lewis is back, in a film called Anemone which will be directed by his son, Ronan. If I had bought Day-Lewis countless beers at his Be At One leaving do, I'd want my money back. Why do they do it? If I was a cynic, I would say it is because, as an actor, you are constantly seeking validation. It is as if you are expecting people to say: 'Oh, please don't, you are an inspiration. You still have so much to give.' Yet if you really have that much of an ego, it's better to be like Greta Garbo, who announced her temporary retirement at the age of 36 and never came back. Her life became shrouded in an almost ghoulish mystique, and her status as a cultural icon was assured. I can understand going back on your word for financial reasons: after all, the state pension is not going to buy you many nights in the Priory. But money rarely seems to be the motivation. Perhaps we should be sympathetic to the idea that people renege on their retirement simply because they love what they do. I certainly get that impression with older musicians: in the past, Tina Turner, Mötley Crüe and David Bowie all officially stepped out of the spotlight only to return. However, when Turner said she was going to give it all up in her early 60s, she stated: 'I should really hang up my dancing shoes'. This inadvertently highlighted two things – that women in a sexist industry are expected to retire – and that carrying on well past your prime (particularly when you are a rock god) can look a little tragic. Do we really want to see Granddad throw himself around the stage, ever fearful that he's going to dislocate something? Otherwise, artists can carry on ad nauseam. Writers usually do, though their best work is often behind them (Diana Athill and Hilma Wolitzer are exceptions). A poignant example of a public withdrawal was the Nobel-winning South African writer Nadine Gordimer who quit, at 90, saying she was too disillusioned to continue. She died shortly afterwards. Women, on the whole, tend to do these things with more grace than men – think of the classical music world which is well known for perpetuating the careers of ageing maestros even when they are well past their prime. Yet sometimes, a Bernard Haitink or a Herbert Blomstedt continues, or so I imagine, because they have a compulsive attitude towards creativity. It's the same with the painter Frank Auerbach who died last year and met our chief art critic, Alastair Sooke, in his studio where, at the age of 91, he was still working every day: 'I've always painted as if I was going to die tomorrow,' he said. The German-Jewish Auerbach endured a horrendous early life, and it is not hard to see that he painted daily in the face of life's transience. Most artists and celebrities continue because they can, but there are a handful, like Auerbach, who continue because they must. A few days before Cate Blanchett announced her retirement, a lesser-known actress did the same. Courtney Henggeler, one of the cast of Netflix's Cobra Kai (a sequel of sorts to The Karate Kid), stated on publishing platform Substack that: 'After 20 plus years of fighting the good fight in the acting business, I hung up my gloves on Friday.' Unlike the garlanded Blanchett, Henggeler had had to endure countless knock-backs and had had enough of a rackety life that promised much and delivered little. 'The hustle, the grind, sprinkled occasionally with the odd acting job. Perhaps a line or two to TV's Dr. House – 'Sorry' (that's it. That was my line. Genius),' she wrote. While I feel that celebrity retirements are often disingenuous, I found this one very moving. Henggeler's statement was not akin to a grand dame taking a final bow, but the honest ranting of a jobbing actor. It's all very well Blanchett et al retiring in a public fashion, but isn't it a bit insensitive? A lot of people in this country, particularly those of us born after the 1960s, are beginning to realise that retirement is almost a pipe dream. Any such proclamation thus seems to confirm what we already knew: that celebrities are out of touch.
