New MCU Casting Promises 1 Major Thing We've Never Seen In An X-Men Movie

Published Sep 11, 2026, 4:20 PM EDT Nicholas Raymond is an author and journalist based out of Alabama, where he proudly roots for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. A graduate of the University of Montevallo, he has a degree in mass communication with a concentration in journalism. The casting of Angel in the new X-Men reboot promises at least one new experience for Marvel fans that's yet to take any shape on the big screen. Gradually, Marvel Studios has been putting together its cast for its upcoming X-Men movie, which is currently slated for a 2028 release. The latest name to join the project is Asa Germann of Gen V fame. The actor has been tapped to play Warren Worthington III, better known in Marvel Comics as Angel (or Archangel). A clearer picture is starting to form in terms of what Marvel has planned for the new X-Men team's first movie. A finalized roster hasn't been confirmed, but it has been confirmed that among the young heroes whom Professor Xavier (Christopher Abott) will presumably take under his wing are Jean Grey (Sadie Sink), Cyclops (Kit Connor), Storm (Maya Boyd), Rogue (Inda Navarrette), and now, Germann's Angel. Emma Frost could theoretically be on the team as well, but whether that's the case remains to be seen. Based on who it's brought on board so far, it won't be a surprise if it completes the original comic lineup by adding in Iceman and Beast. Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, or Colossus could also be incorporated into its plans, especially since the involvement of Rogue and Storm proves its willingness to utilize later additions to the group. Because it's still early in the movie's development, there are multiple different directions the movie could take. But, its choice of characters does provide a strong indicator that, regardless of who it fills out its X-Men team with, it'll be different in at least one way from all previous iterations of the roster - none of them gave Angel the role he deserved. With Angel, The X-Men Movies Consistently Missed The Mark Credit: MovieStillsDB Angel is a co-founding member of the X-Men team and a core character across many decades of their comic history. And yet, Fox's X-Men movies never honored those roots, despite multiple opportunities. There are obviously too many X-Men characters for every member to get a roster spot in each iteration of the group, but the vast majority of the X-Men's core heroes have enjoyed at least one chance to serve on a live-action X-Men team (of which there were several). Angel, however, never received that treatment. The final installment in the original X-Men trilogy, X-Men: The Last Stand, did include Angel, but only in a supporting role. He showed up for the final battle, but was afforded very limited interactions with the other characters since he was never on the team, nor did he ever really get to know them. The franchise pushed the reset button in X-Men: First Class, which reintroduced the team by going back in time to their early days. Unfortunately, continuity issues with The Last Stand stood in the way of Angel being properly represented as one of the team's first members. So instead, Marvel debuted a new winged mutant character, Angel Salvatore, who ultimately filled the void left by the original Angel. Warren Worthington III finally made it back into the franchise in X-Men: Apocalypse, but his track record as a member of the X-Men wasn't a part of its focus. Rather, Apocalypse leaned more on a different facet of his comic story, which was his "Archangel" alter ego and association with Apocalypse. To this day, Angel has never been an X-Man in a Marvel movie. The New X-Men Movie Is Already Delivering A Better "First" Team Than First Class Looking at the ages of the actors cast thus far, the reboot is poised to be the second origin story-style X-Men movie, the first being X-Men: First Class. But this one seems to be taking a decidedly different approach, in that its roster is shaping up to be something more strongly rooted in the source material. Even at this stage, it's already confirmed that three of the original five X-Men from Marvel Comics will be among the cast. First Class, in contrast, only included Beast in its lineup. As the story expanded beyond First Class, two more members (Cyclops and Jean Grey) joined the fold, but by then, Beast was already an older, experienced hero and someone who represented a different generation. So even with those three characters on the same team, it couldn't recreate the original character dynamic that permeated their earliest years together in the Silver Age. The MCU's X-Men reboot, on the other hand, is in a prime position to do just that and show a recognizable take on the first team growing into adulthood and facing incredible challenges together. What Angel's Role In The MCU Could Be Adding Warren Worthington III to the X-Men movie is a move that comes complete with a wealth of possibilities. But seeing Angel using his wings to swoop down on his enemies, develop friendships with his teammates, and balance his rich lifestyle with being a superhero only accounts for a fraction of the storytelling opportunities Marvel has with his character. Angel has served with other superhero teams, fought for Apocalypse against his will, and mentored younger X-Men. Similar to his narrative played out in the comics, the 2028 film may only be the first chapter for him. After Angel temporarily parted ways with the X-Men, he became a key member of two other superhero teams. In the late 1970s, he co-founded the Champions and even funded the group's activities with his inheritance. Later, he took on the same role for the New Defenders. As Marvel reshuffles its X-Men roster in the years that follow, taking Angel down this comic-accurate road would make a lot of sense. Another pathway involves Angel becoming Archangel. In the comics, his stint as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse wound up redefining him as a character, partially because engraining it into his identity made him more than just a man with wings. And since Apocalypse does feel like a strong candidate for a future X-Men villain in the MCU, this too could be in the cards for Asa Germann's character.