The New Mutants was the final film released in 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise. With Marvel Studios set to reboot the beloved mutants for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one star from Fox's final X-Men movie is holding out hope that he'll be asked to return.

Speaking with CoveredGeekly on the red carpet for The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Henrique Zaga revealed that he would love to return as Roberto da Costa/Sunspot in Marvel Studios' X-Men reboot. "Of course, I would love to return to the MCU!" said The New Mutants actor. "I feel like Sunspot is such a beloved character and I absolutely love him. I think there’s still so much to explore still with that storyline." He also hoped that Marvel Studios would consider bringing back the rest of The New Mutants cast, adding, "It would just be a joy to bring all those actors back together, it was one of the highlights that I had in my 20s just playing this Brazilian superhero. Definitely yeah!"

Directed by Josh Boone from a screenplay he wrote with Knate Lee, The New Mutants is the thirteenth and final installment in 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series. Released in 2020, the movie focused on a group of young mutants — played by Zaga, Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, and Blu Hunt — held in a secret facility who fight to save themselves. While Fox's X-Men franchise had enjoyed massive commercial success in the past, The New Mutants was a lackluster finish for the series, grossing just $49 million worldwide against a budget of $67–80 million.

Marvel Is Going All in on the X-Men

After reacquiring the rights to the X-Men in 2019, Marvel Studios has slowly begun to incorporate mutants into the MCU. 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the first movie to feature mutants, with X-Men original trilogy star Patrick Stewart portraying an alternate version of Charles Xavier/Professor X in the Phase 4 blockbuster hit.

The Disney+ series Ms. Marvel also revealed its title character as a mutant, while Black Panther: Wakanda Forever established Namor as one of the world's first mutants. Deadpool & Wolverine will further bring the X-Men to the MCU, with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman set to reprise their X-Men roles as Wade Wilson/Deadpool and Logan/Wolverine, respectively, in the movie, which hits theaters this summer.

X-Men '97 Has Won Over Audiences

While Deadpool & Wolverine will be Marvel Studios' first live-action X-Men movie, the company has already released its first animated project featuring the mutants: X-Men '97, a continuation of the beloved '90s cartoon, X-Men: The Animated Series. The animated revival has received glowing reviews from both critics and fans since its Disney+ premiere on March 20, holding a 98 percent critics’ score and 93 percent audience score on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.

As for the live-action X-Men reboot, Marvel Studios has begun hearing pitches from writers. While not much else is known at this time, Marvel reportedly wants Mister Sinister to be the main villain of the reboot instead of Magneto. Mister Sinister, who is currently antagonizing the fan-favorite mutants in X-Men '97, has yet to appear in a live-action X-Men movie, although Jon Hamm almost played him in The New Mutants.

The New Mutants is available to stream on Disney+.

Source: CoveredGeekly