X-Men Movies Have Been Trying to Introduce Mister Sinister Since First Class

The X-Men films have tackled some of the most prominent villains in the franchise’s history. From Magneto to the Phoenix Force to the Hellfire Club to the Sentinels to Apocalypse (and Dark Phoenix once again), the mutant’s rogues gallery has been substantially explored. And yet, there’s still one major foe who has yet to appear in on the big screen.

But that doesn’t mean there’s been a lack of trying. Apparently, Mister Sinister was meant to be the big bad in X-Men: First Class, the ’60s-set reboot of the franchise. According to writer Zack Stentz, Sinister’s original plan is the reason why Sebastian Shaw‘s power set changes from what comic fans are familiar with.

“There were scenes and pages from that original Magneto script that were folded into the finished production,” Stentz explained on the Fanboy Podcast. “The opening in Auschwitz – and then with Sebastian Shaw – [was] right out of that original script, except that it was originally Mister Sinister, which is why Sebastian Shaw actually has powers more like Mister Sinister’s than his own.”

While X-Men: First Class was widely well received among fans, the fact that we could have seen Kevin Bacon as Mister Sinister instead of the leader of the Hellfire Club might be disappointing to some. Sinister is one of the X-Men’s most iconic foes, up there with Magneto and Apocalypse. Few are as deadly and menacing as the gene-obsessed man of science.

And yet, that just makes Sinister the perfect foe to kick off a new series of films when the franchise is rebooted under the banner of Marvel Studios. But that likely means the characters will be recast with new actors eventually.

Cyclops actor Tye Sheridan spoke with ComicBook.com about the possibility of sticking around, but he downplayed that idea.

“There weren’t any talks with us,” Sheridan said. “I don’t know if there’ve been an internal conversation… I don’t know. I think this franchise has a lot of potential, it always has. I’d love to see it continue in some form, even if there spin-offs and characters do their own movies independently. I think it’s definitely something that should be explored.”

Similarly, director Simon Kinberg made it clear that he’s not sure what Marvel is planning for the franchise.

“The easy answer is, no, I don’t know the answer,” Kinberg told ComicBook.com. “And I don’t know that Marvel or Disney knows the answer yet either. I think everybody is still figuring it out.”

X-Men: Dark Phoenix premieres in theaters on June 7th.