Bill Skarsgård Breaks Silence on ‘X-Men’ Professor X Rumors and Admits He Met the Director

Bill Skarsgård has built one of the most distinctive résumés in modern horror, from the shape-shifting clown Pennywise in ‘It’ to Count Orlok in Robert Eggers’ ‘Nosferatu’. He has also dipped a toe into superhero territory, appearing in ‘Deadpool 2’ and voicing the villain Kro in ‘Eternals’. So when whispers started that he might be heading back to Marvel, fans took notice.

The buzz centered on Marvel Studios’ upcoming ‘X-Men‘ reboot, which is being directed by Jake Schreier, the filmmaker behind ‘Thunderbolts*’. With the franchise getting a fresh start, nearly every casting rumor on the internet has found its way to the film, and the role of Professor X has been one of the most talked about.

Skarsgård’s name first surfaced in July, when insider reports claimed he was in talks for a role in the film, possibly Charles Xavier. Entertainment journalist Jeff Sneider then reported on July 31 that Skarsgård and Tom Pelphrey were the leading contenders for the part, though Marvel never confirmed anything. Other names floated around the role included Patrick Wilson and Drew Starkey.

Schreier himself tried to cool things down in June, telling Collider at the Gotham Television Awards that the team was talking and thinking about things. He warned fans that most of the casting chatter online does not come from his room and is not what the filmmakers are actually discussing.

Now the actor has addressed the speculation directly. Speaking to host Josh Horowitz on the podcast ‘Happy Sad Confused’, Skarsgård confirmed that he did meet with Schreier and said he liked him. He added that he never read any scripts and that nothing ever got close for a major role.

That answer helps explain where the rumor came from. A conversation between actor and director did take place, but it never turned into a real offer or a casting decision.

Marvel has since moved on with its casting. Christopher Abbott is set to play Charles Xavier, with Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost and Maya Boyd as Storm. Adam Driver is on board as Mister Sinister, and Asa Germann is playing Angel.

The film is reportedly slated for May 5, 2028. Before the reboot arrives, Patrick Stewart’s Professor X is expected to appear in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which will see him share the screen with the Avengers and Fantastic Four.

The Horowitz conversation covered plenty more than ‘X-Men’. Asked what he learned from making ‘The Crow’, Skarsgård said the main takeaway was to avoid signing onto a project without a finished script. He explained that the first script arrived only about 2 months before filming, which created a struggle for him and director Rupert Sanders.

The 2024 film opened to just $4.6 million and earned $24.1 million worldwide on a reported budget of $50 million, and it holds a 22% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Skarsgård said he does not regret any of his roles, and that what matters is what you take away from each one.

He also said he thought John Constantine was a cool character and that he and ‘It’ director Andy Muschietti had an idea for a Constantine project blending visual horror with superhero elements. That comment came the same day as news about DC Studios’ own John Constantine movie.

Asked whether his ‘Deadpool 2’ character Zeitgeist or his ‘Eternals’ character Kro might return in ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’, Skarsgård was noncommittal. Horowitz took his answer as a warning not to expect it, and the actor did not disagree.

Skarsgård has plenty on his plate regardless. He is set to return as Pennywise in the second season of ‘It: Welcome to Derry’, although he declined to reveal details, and his war film ‘The Mosquito Bowl’, directed by Peter Berg, is due on Netflix on November 25.

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