James McAvoy offered his best wishes to Christopher Abbott, who takes over the role of Professor X in Marvel's X-Men reboot.
The actor previously portrayed Charles Xavier in four X-Men films, including X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
McAvoy expressed his excitement for the future of the franchise.
James McAvoy Backs Christopher Abbott As New Professor X In Marvel Reboot
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige confirmed Abbott's casting alongside Sadie Sink, Kit Connor, Samara Weaving, and Adam Driver during the D23 2026 event.
Summary
James McAvoy has backed Christopher Abbott taking over as Professor X in Marvel’s next generation of films. He made the comments while promoting a different film at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2026.
James McAvoy wishes Abbott good luck
At Entertainment Weekly’s TIFF studio on Friday (September 11), the 47-year-old actor kept the focus on the project he was there to promote. Still, he sent Abbott and the rest of the Marvel reboot cast his best wishes. “Good luck to him,” McAvoy said. “Good luck, good luck, good luck. I just wish them well and good luck.”
“I’m here to sell a different film, so I don’t really… [Marvel’s] got a massive publicity machine; they can sell their own [film],” he said. “But massive good luck to them!”
McAvoy’s X-Men history
McAvoy played Charles Xavier aka Professor X in Fox’s X-Men prequel films: X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse and X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
His latest remarks came after New York Comic Con in October 2025, following Kevin Feige’s comments about the franchise’s future. McAvoy said he supported recasting the X-Men. “Look, I’m excited to see what happens next,” he said, per Entertainment Weekly. “I was a fan before I was an employee and I’ll be a fan again! You want it to be…I just can’t wait for it to be…Oh no, that was going to sound bad.”
He also addressed the casting talk at the time. “It’s going to put a lot of pressure on people. Colman Domingo sounds amazing, though!” he added.
X-Men reboot casting
Marvel’s new X-Men line-up has been rolled out in stages. Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey casting was revealed in July’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Ahead of D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in August, Deadline reported that Kit Connor would play Scott Summers/Cyclops and Samara Weaving would play Emma Frost.
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Maya Boyd will portray Storm, Inde Navarrette will play Rogue and Adam Driver will play Mister Sinister.
X-Men reboot is scheduled to hit the theatres on May 5, 2028.
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