With the X-Men being more prominent than ever in the minds of fans everywhere, one creator on social media has released some great fan art to promote their personal top pick for the role of one of the iconic original members of the super team.

The X-Men have always been a big part of the Marvel Universe, and have even found success in live-action during the 2000s and 2010s. However, since the rights to the characters were owned by Fox until very recently, they’ve been absent from the Marvel Cinematic Universe since its inception. That all changed with the acquisition of the film rights once again by Disney, uniting Marvel Studios with the mutant characters for the first time. However, it was clear that Marvel Is Going To Have A Big MCU X-Men Problem, especially when it comes to casting such an ensemble.

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The release of X-Men ‘97 and its subtle homage to the original animated series really brought the characters to the forefront once more, and now fans are getting into the swing of things with their own picks for their favorite characters. One such fan casting came from BossLogic on Instagram, who took to the platform to post their fan art depicting longtime X-Men team lead Cyclops being portrayed by Hollywood star Glen Powell, most recently recognized for his role in Top Gun: Maverick. In the picture, Powell can be seen sporting the character’s iconic visor and outfit, complete with comics-accurate colors and trappings.

The post was met with tons of praise by other Instagram users, with a lot of attention being given to just how aesthetically fitting the mock-up of Powell as Cyclops is. Some fans also noted that he would also make a fitting Scott Summers, another important part of any casting for such an important and well-storied character at the center of a lot of the team’s actions and story arcs. While the fan art is quite appealing, many other respondents were quick to point out that Powell already clarified that he's not playing Cyclops in the MCU, at least at the moment. The star cites the fact that he has never even had contact with anyone at Marvel, and goes on to say after another prompt that a Top Gun spinoff is currently more likely than his involvement with the MCU.

While Powell’s main point is that he hasn’t been cast, he’s also not coming across as particularly hopeful about a potential role, despite being such a hot pick. As casting continues to be a major focus of future projects for the MCU, fans of the Fox-era X-Men films can rest assured knowing that a good storyline is all James Marsden requires to reprise his Cyclops role for the MCU. With Powell not currently looking like he’s particularly interested in being in the MCU, fans might have to admit that the ongoing downturn in the franchise’s fates might mean that it’s not the attractive prospect it was just a handful of years ago when stars like Chris Pratt were eager to take on any role in the then-growing interconnected universe.

There’s still a lot of time before the X-Men make any sort of grand debut in the MCU, which should give the creatives ample time to fix the issues Cyclops has had in live-action before. How all that plays out in the near future will depend a lot on what direction the MCU goes in come 2025, as another major fail could have disastrous consequences for long-term plans.

The X-Men franchise is available for streaming on Disney+.

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Source: BossLogic/Instagram