Adam Driver said it himself in his D23 video: he and Kevin Feige have been talking for years about joining the MCU.
Years is right. Before Marvel revealed Driver as Nathaniel Milbury at the X-Men cast announcement, the actor’s name was attached to nearly every corner of the franchise.
Here is the full paper trail of the roles Adam Driver almost played, or was said to be playing, before landing on Mister Sinister.
Reed Richards Was The Close Call
The most serious near-miss was Mister Fantastic. Back in 2023, trades reported Driver was in talks for Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The deal never closed, and the role went to Pedro Pascal.
In hindsight, that miss looks like the setup. Marvel wanted Driver, Driver wanted the right part, and the stretchy scientist dad was never going to be it.
The Doctor Doom Chatter
Before Robert Downey Jr. shocked Hall H in 2024, Driver’s name also circulated in the Doctor Doom conversation, per scooper chatter from the same Fantastic Four casting cycle.
That one never rose above rumor. But it established the pattern: whenever Marvel had a big villain-shaped hole, Driver’s name fell into it.
Then Came The X-Men Villain Carousel
This summer turned that pattern into a spinning wheel.
In July, Driver was rumored as the X-Men reboot’s villain, with the role claimed to be Magneto.
Three days later, the same scooper walked it back to Mister Sinister.
Then a week before D23, THR winked at Sebastian Shaw. Three villains attached to one actor inside a month, and our tracker logged every swerve.
Driver Knew Exactly What He Was Doing At D23
Which is what makes the reveal itself so good.
Alone on an empty Pinewood soundstage, Driver announced he was “very excited to be playing the role of Magneto,” let it hang, and then corrected himself to Nathaniel Milbury.
The man read a month of rumors and trolled all of them in one line. The full panel video is here.
Why Sinister Was Worth The Wait
Look at the pattern across every role Driver passed on or missed: hero parts and established villains other actors already defined.
Mister Sinister is neither.
He has never been played in live action, he comes with 40 years of comic history and zero screen baggage, and his obsession with the Summers and Grey bloodlines puts Driver directly opposite Kit Connor’s Cyclops and Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey.
Driver told the D23 crowd he had finally found something perfect with characters he feels deeply about. Given what he turned down to get here, it is hard to argue.
X-Men opens May 5, 2028. Our full profile of Driver’s Nathaniel Milbury is here, and release date, full cast, and every rumor are tracked in our X-Men guide.
(note: featured image is Adam Driver Mister Sinister fan art)
