Giancarlo Esposito reveals he’s been “in the room” with Marvel execs amid rumors that he’s playing Professor X in the upcoming X-Men reboot

actor Giancarlo Esposito is ready to delve deeper into the expansive cinematic world of Marvel.

During a speech at the Thomas J. Henry’s Superhero Car Show & Comic Con in San Antonio, TX, Esposito revealed that not only does he have major roles in his sights in the Marvel Multiverse, but that he’s already had discussions with studio execs. “I haven’t worked for Marvel before. I was in the room talking to them,” said the Breaking Bad villain.

Esposito has had a long career portraying villainous characters in television and film, as well as in the Far Cry 6 video game. Considering he’s carved a niche for himself as a formidable antagonist in his four decades of acting, it would be easy to imagine him portraying a version of a villain character. But the ‘The Mandalorian’ actor has a more congenial character in mind.

“So, it’s been talked about Magneto, it’s been talked about Dr. Freeze talked, it’s been talked about – who else are they talking about over there? O doom! And there’s… Professor X,” he said on Aug. 7. When asked which of the characters he would most like to portray, he replied, “Will you pick one? I’ll choose something a little different. I’ll go and put it in the universe that it’s Professor X.”

During last month’s San Diego Comic-Con, the plans for Marvel’s phases five and six were revealed by the studio’s president, Kevin Feige. TV shows and films slated for release in the next few years include Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali, and an X-Men reboot. Over the past two decades, Marvel has released 11 films themed around the mutant superheroes. In at least seven of these projects, actor Patrick Stewart has portrayed Xavier X, the telepathic leader of the X-Men. In 2017, Stewart made his final appearance as the often wheelchair-bound mutant in Logan.