Earlier this month, Sadie Sink, who plays Max Mayfield in Stranger Things, was reported to be set to star alongside Tom Holland in Spider-Man 4. Deadline said that Sink, who made her film debut in the 2016 biographical sports drama Chuck, would appear in the upcoming MCU movie, which begins filming later this year and has a release date of July 31, 2026.
Marvel and Sony had no comment when contacted by Deadline, but the publication speculated that Sink would play either X-Men character Jean Grey or “another beloved redheaded Spider-Man character.”
IGN subsequently dived deep into the Marvel characters Sadie Sink could play in Spider-Man 4 and beyond in the MCU.
Now, speaking to Josh Horowitz in a new interview, Sink remained coy about the Jean Grey X-Men speculation, but admitted the rumor is “awesome.”
“This is news to me,” Sink said in response to the Jean Grey / X-Men rumor.
Sink was then asked if she had spoken to Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige or any Marvel representative about Jean Grey.
“No,” she replied. “I have nothing to say about this.”
Then: “The rumors are really cool though. It’s an awesome rumor!”
Sink said she knows the Jean Grey character: “It’s a great character, so it was cool to read!”
And finally, on the theoretical prospect of committing a significant amount of time and energy to potentially playing a MCU character for years, Sink responded: “I think that’s super exciting.”
And then the chat stopped, with Sink clearly wanting to keep her cards close to her chest. Horowitz mentioned revisiting the interview in the future when, perhaps, it is finally confirmed that Sink has a role in the MCU.
Late last year, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige teased the introduction of X-Men characters in the “next few” MCU movies.
Feige told an audience at the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore that fans would see “some X-Men players that you might recognize” in the next few MCU movies, but he stopped short of saying which characters or what movies.
On bringing the X-Men into the MCU, Feige added: “I think you will see that continues in our next few movies with some X-Men players that you might recognize.
“Right after that, the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men. Again, [it’s] one of those dreams come true. We finally have the X-Men back.”
At the time, Marvel’s next few movies, if we assume few to mean three, were Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and then Phase Six kickstarter The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July 2025.
Perhaps more likely are more mutant appearances throughout Phase 6 movies, which include 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man 4, and 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars. One of the key questions here will be whether Deadpool and Wolverine return to the MCU having seen such huge success with their own movie this summer. Could Channing Tatum also reprise his role as Gambit?
Feige has also said the X-Men will be an important part of the MCU’s future following Secret Wars. “When we were preparing for Avengers: Endgame years ago, it was a question of getting to the grand finale of our narrative, and then we had to start all over again after that,” Feige said. “This time, on the road to Secret Wars, we already know very well what the story is going to be until then and afterwards. The X-Men are an important part of that future.”
It sounds like Phase 7 of the MCU will be dominated by the X-Men, then, but in the short term, Storm appeared in What If…? Season 3, marking the character’s first appearance in the wider MCU.
In October, Marvel Studios added three untitled movie projects to its 2028 release schedule: February 18, 2028; May 5, 2028; and November 10, 2028. It seems increasingly likely one of these movies is X-Men.
Image credit: Marvel Comics.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
