We have seen those heroes before on screen, but they are getting a new makeover for the new gen audience. As Kit Connor's casting as Cyclops gathers more steam, here's a look at some of the actors who have either recently done or are set to bring alive these beloved heroes alive on the screen
Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider
After years of fan-casting, Ryan Gosling is officially riding into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ghost Rider. Marvel Studios unveiled the actor at San Diego Comic-Con in July, with Gosling revealing that he had wanted to play the character for a long time. The standalone film, directed by his Star Wars: Starfighter collaborator Shawn Levy, is slated for 2028. Nicolas Cage previously played the supernatural antihero in Ghost Rider (2007) and its 2011 sequel.
Kit Connor as Cyclops
From Heartstopper to the X-Men? Kit Connor is reportedly being eyed to play Scott Summers aka Cyclops in the upcoming X-Men film, though Marvel is yet to formally announce the casting. Cyclops, one of the X-Men’s best-known leaders, possesses the ability to fire powerful optic blasts, which he controls using a specialised visor. James Marsden first played the character in the original X-Men films, while Tye Sheridan portrayed a younger Scott in the later prequel films. The new MCU instalment is being directed by Thunderbolts* (2025) filmmaker Jake Schreier.
Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man
Nicholas Galitzine swapped his rom-com image for the Sword of Power as Prince Adam aka He-Man in the live-action Masters of the Universe, which hit theatres in June this year. Directed by Travis Knight, the reboot sees Adam return to Eternia after years away and embrace his destiny as He-Man to take on Skeletor, played by Jared Leto. Galitzine’s version also gives the famously muscle-bound ’80s hero a more sensitive, self-aware spin. The character was previously played in live action by Dolph Lundgren in the 1987 film.
Sadie Sink as Jean Grey
{{/usCountry}}Nicholas Galitzine swapped his rom-com image for the Sword of Power as Prince Adam aka He-Man in the live-action Masters of the Universe, which hit theatres in June this year. Directed by Travis Knight, the reboot sees Adam return to Eternia after years away and embrace his destiny as He-Man to take on Skeletor, played by Jared Leto. Galitzine’s version also gives the famously muscle-bound ’80s hero a more sensitive, self-aware spin. The character was previously played in live action by Dolph Lundgren in the 1987 film.
Sadie Sink as Jean Grey
{{/usCountry}}After months of secrecy over her role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Sadie Sink has finally been revealed as Jean Grey. The film, which released on July 31, marks the telepathic mutant’s introduction into the MCU and appears to lay groundwork for Marvel’s new generation of X-Men. One of the franchise’s most powerful mutants, Jean possesses telepathic and telekinetic abilities and has a famously complicated relationship with the destructive Phoenix Force in the comics. Famke Janssen played Jean in the original X-Men films, while Sophie Turner took on the younger version of the character in the prequel series.
David Jonsson as Black Panther
Wakanda has found its next Black Panther. Alien: Romulus (2024) actor David Jonsson was unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con as the new lead of Black Panther 3. He will play an adult Prince T’Challa II, the son of T’Challa and Nakia who was introduced as a child in the post-credits sequence of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). The casting marks the next chapter for the mantle after Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa, who died off-screen following Boseman's demise in 2020 due to a private battle with cancer. The film is slated for December, 2028.