Star Wars franchise star John Boyega is ready to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While he was initially unsure who he should play in the shared universe, a fan helped him realize who he’d be perfect for.
During a chat with Josh Horowitz at C2E2 (via Agents of Fandom), Boyega was asked by a fan if there was anyone he’d be interested in playing in the MCU. The actor shared that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige once asked him that question too, and he didn’t have an answer for the studio head at the time. This prompted a fan to yell out that Boyega should play Bishop in the X-Men reboot, to which the actor instantly agreed. «Oh, I’d play Bishop,» he remarked.
Created by writer John Byrne and artist Whilce Portacio, Lucas Bishop first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #282 in 1991, as a member of Xavier’s Security Enforcers, a mutant police force from a dystopian future of the Marvel Universe, who travels to the 20th century to join the X-Men. A skilled marksman, Bishop possesses the ability to absorb and redirect energy. While not as well-known to casual audiences as Wolverine, Magneto, or Deadpool, Bishop is still a prominent part of the X-Men canon, and was recently seen in Marvel Television’s X-Men: The Animated Series continuation, X-Men ’97, voiced by Isaac Robinson-Smith. He also had a small role in the 2014 live-action movie X-Men: Days of Future Past, played by Omar Sy.
The X-Men Will Appear in Avengers: Doomsday
Marvel Studios has been slowly developing an X-Men reboot film since 2019, when the company regained the rights to the franchise. However, the reboot is not expected to be released until after the conclusion of The Multiverse Saga, as Marvel is seemingly keen on bringing back the original X-Men cast for one last hurrah. Kelsey Grammer (Beast), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), and James Marsden (Cyclops) were all recently announced to be returning for Avengers: Doomsday as variants of the mutants they played in 20th Century Fox’s original X-Men trilogy. Channing Tatum will also be back as Gambit, reprising his scene-stealing role from 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine.
While some fans have been clamoring for Boyega to join the MCU, given his star power and talent, there are also millions hoping to see the actor return to the Star Wars galaxy as Finn. Unfortunately, Boyega stated back in 2022 that he has no interest in returning as Finn. More recently, he remarked that «Star Wars always had the vibe of being in the most whitest, elite space. It’s a franchise that’s so white that a Black person existing in [it] was something.»
Despite Boyega’s comments, his Star Wars sequel trilogy co-star Daisy Ridley would welcome the opportunity to work with him again on her upcoming franchise return. In 2024, she stated that she would «absolutely» welcome Boyega’s Star Wars return in her upcoming movie: «Absolutely, of course. It feels like we should, yeah.»
Marvel Studios’ X-Men reboot has not yet set a release date.
