Andy Behbakht has worked as an entertainment journalist since 2010, covering all the latest in Hollywood on both the big and small screens, from staying on top of the biggest breaking news, analyzing movies and television shows in Hollywood, to in-depth interviews with actors and storytellers.
Andy's career includes having worked for publications such as FanSided, KSiteTV, TV Fanatic, It's Just Movies, Heroic Hollywood, TV Overmind, and more. Outside of his career as an established reporter, Andy is the host and producer of The Showrunner Whisperer, The Flash Podcast, the editor-in-chief of Multiverse of Color, and the network director of DC TV Podcasts.
The Multiverse Saga is nearing its end, as Avengers: Secret Wars will officially conclude Phase 6 in December 2027. However, one of the big Hollywood stars who is next in line to join the MCU timeline is Adam Driver, and similar to his time in the Star Wars franchise, he will be playing a massive villain for Marvel Studios.
As Driver has been tapped to play Nathaniel Essex, a.k.a. Marvel's Mister Sinister, in the X-Men reboot from Jake Schreier, popular graphic designer and artist Spdrmnkyxxiii shared artwork of what the Girls alum could look like as the iconic comic book foe in live-action. Check it out below:
Adam Driver as Mr. Sinister by spdrmnkyxxiiiArt by Spdrmnkyxxiii
At D23 2026, where his casting was first revealed, Driver stated the following in a video message to the audience about finally boarding the MCU: “Kevin [Feige] and I have been talking for years about maybe joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And I think we finally found the perfect film at the perfect time.”
The X-Men movie will be the first time Mister Sinister has ever been used in live-action, as the mutants era is getting ready to take a major spotlight in the ever-growing superhero property. Whether or not he is the big bad of the reboot is unclear, as Kevin Feige has made it clear that they are not done casting yet.
However, the role was almost played by a different Hollywood actor. Jon Hamm was initially set to play Mister Sinister for Fox's X-Men franchise, as he was reported to have a cameo in The New Mutants, with plans to eventually serve a larger role in that universe.
When speaking to ScreenRant in November 2023, Hamm shared that he would still love to join the comic book film genre at some point. He stated at the time, "I don't know. Those decisions get made at such a high level at this point, definitely above my pay grade. I would love to. I've been a fan of Marvel Comics and comics in general since I was probably single digits. I think there are tons of stories that I'm familiar with, at least, that are still out there to be told. Hopefully, whatever their plans are, they include me."
Hamm admitted that even if they don't include him, he knows "that they have a pretty deep bench of folks that are ready to be a part of those stories. There are certainly a lot of stories in the X-Men world to be told. Fantastic Four as well, [like] Doctor Doom. There are so many great things out there. But yeah, I hope I get a chance. Who knows?"
ScreenRant.com|XCerebro Files
Personality Quiz
ScreenRant/Movies/X-Men/Personality Quiz
Marvel · Mutant ProfileWhich X-Men Character Are You?“Mutation: it is the key to our evolution.”
🐺WolverineThe Loner
🧠Professor XThe Visionary
🧲MagnetoThe Survivor
QUESTION 1 / 8PERSONALITY
01
Humans discover your mutant abilities. What do you do?
QUESTION 2 / 8INSTINCTS
02
Anti-mutant protesters surround a school full of young mutants. What’s your first move?
QUESTION 3 / 8TEAMWORK
03
A team of mutants needs a leader for a dangerous mission. What role do you naturally fall into?
QUESTION 4 / 8CONFLICT
04
A powerful mutant threatens innocent humans. How do you respond?
QUESTION 5 / 8TRUST
05
A human politician offers to champion mutant rights — but has a shady past. What do you do?
QUESTION 6 / 8WEAKNESS
06
What’s your biggest flaw?
QUESTION 7 / 8APPROACH
07
Sentinels are hunting mutants in your city. What’s your move?
QUESTION 8 / 8VALUES
08
What do you believe about coexistence between humans and mutants?
Cerebro Scan CompleteYour X-Men Identity
🐺
Wolverine (Logan)
“I’m the best there is at what I do. But what I do best isn’t very nice.”You’re the fierce loner who acts first and philosophises later — but beneath that adamantium-plated exterior beats a heart that cares far more than you’d ever admit. You’ve been burned enough times to distrust the world, so you keep people at arm’s length, yet you’d throw yourself into any fight to protect the ones who slip past your defences. You don’t need a cause or a manifesto — you just need someone worth fighting for. Like Logan, your greatest strength isn’t your claws or your healing factor; it’s the stubborn refusal to let the people you love face danger alone.
FierceProtectiveResilientUntamed
🧠
Professor X (Charles Xavier)
“Just because someone stumbles and loses their path, doesn’t mean they’re lost forever.”You’re the visionary who sees the best in everyone — even when the world gives you every reason not to. Your greatest power isn’t telepathy; it’s an unshakeable belief that understanding and compassion can bridge any divide. You lead not through force but through hope, building bridges where others build walls. Some call you naive, but you know that real strength lies in extending a hand to your enemy. Like Charles Xavier, you carry the weight of a dream that most consider impossible, and you refuse to let it die.
VisionaryEmpatheticDiplomaticHopeful
🧲
Magneto (Erik Lehnsherr)
“Peace was never an option.”You’re the survivor who learned the hardest lesson life has to offer: the world will not protect you, so you must protect yourself. Your conviction is unbreakable and your patience is terrifying — you’ll wait years to set the right plan in motion. You don’t hate humanity; you simply refuse to let your people be victims ever again. Every action you take, no matter how ruthless, is driven by a profound love for those who share your struggle. Like Erik Lehnsherr, you are both revolutionary and tragic — a leader forged in pain who will bend the world before it bends you.
ResoluteStrategicRuthlessUnyielding
Little is known about Driver's incarnation of Nathaniel, as Marvel Studios is still keeping story details heavily under wraps. The X-Men cast will feature Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Maya Boyd as Storm, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, and Christopher Abbott as Professor X.
With the large history of Mister Sinister in the Marvel canon, there are numerous directions that the MCU can take with him for the first film and beyond. But with major star power in Driver, it will be exciting to see the actor bring him to the big screen in Phase 7.
Marvel Studios' X-Men film is set to open in theaters on May 5, 2028.
Jean Grey
Rogue / Anna Marie
Scott Summers / Cyclops
Samara WeavingEmma Frost