Marvel may have found its X-Men villain in a Narcos fan favorite

There's a new supposed update about the MCU X-Men project: It may have found its central antagonist in Dr. Nathaniel Essex/Mister Sinister, played by Narcos's Wagner Moura. The source of this rumor is the internet scooper MyTimeToShineHello's X (formerly Twitter) account. If Wagner is indeed playing the villain, he is joining his Narcos co-star Pedro Pascal in the franchise.

It is important to note that the MCU mutant project is in the early stages of development. Therefore, it will be a while before the cameras start rolling on this MCU project. However, we know one thing about the X-Men movie: it will be directed by Thunderbolts* helmer Jake Schreier.

Is Wagner Moura the MCU X-Men project's villain?

Internet scooper MyTimeToShineHello was the first one to post this Wednesday. Neither Marvel nor the actor's representatives have confirmed that he is playing the X-Men's immortal villain Mister Sinister. Therefore, we need to take this post with a grain of salt. While he has been around since the 1990s, Wagner Moura's breakout role was playing Pablo Escobar in Narcos.

It should also be noted that the script for the movie is not finished yet. Schreier himself confirmed that the team is still working on the reboot's script. The Thunderbolts* director also confirmed that Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo, the co-showrunner of The Bear, were working on the Marvel project's script this April to Collider's Steve Weintraub:

"We're still developing. You know, one of the exciting things that's tying into Beef is that Sonny [Lee Sung Jin] and Joanna [Calo] both worked on this season. Obviously, I mean, Beef is Sonny's show, and Joanna worked on the season as well, and we worked together on Season 1 of Beef and on Thunderbolts*. They have come in and are working on a draft right now, which is really exciting to be able to put that group of people together again."

NOTE - Schreier misspoke here. Joanna Calo was one of Beef Season 1's writers, not Season 2.

As for why Joanna Calo and Lee Sung Jin were chosen to write the mutant project, Jake Schreier cited the ideologically driven but soap opera-like and dramatic nature of the source material:

"When you go back and read X-Men [comics], there's ideology but also interpersonal drama, almost of a soap opera quality. Having writers who understand both how to drive ideology from personal stakes, if we get that right, that's what will feel most honest to what X-Men can be."

As the project hasn't started filming yet, you have to wait for a few years for the movie. But that doesn't mean that you have to wait to watch the team in action on the big screen.

The mutant team will appear in Avengers: Doomsday

James Marsden returns as the X-Man in Avengers: Doomsday | Image Via: YouTube/Marvel Entertainment

The iconic Marvel mutant team is going to play a major role in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. Moreover, the version of the characters we saw in the early 2000s film franchise is returning. Therefore, Sir Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Kelsey Grammer, Sir Patrick Stewart, and Alan Cumming are reprising their roles for one (probably) last time.