The Mandalorian's Giancarlo Esposito Shares Why He Wants to Play Professor X for Marvel
Thanks to his roles in Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and The Mandalorian, Giancarlo Esposito is a name fans often throw out when it comes to speculating about iconic comic book characters coming to life, but the actor himself would most be interested in embracing the X-Men's Charles Xavier, as he's already played so many nefarious characters. The actor isn't the only one who is in support of this idea, as fans often share their desire for the casting decision, with Esposito expressing his love for Marvel Studios and encouraging those fans to make their voices heard about such casting decisions.
"I love what Marvel does. I love that the fans can see me in this universe and are proposing not only one character, possibly Magneto, possibly [DC's Dr.] Freeze. And the biggest ask is Charles Xavier," Esposito recalled on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. "But, look, I want to play a good guy. Charles is smart. He's good. But I feel as if there may be some mileage with me and Marvel. I know I love what they do. I know I love creativity. So who knows what could happen? Keep putting it out there."
The more support that audiences show for actors taking on specific roles doesn't always work in everyone's favor, as eventual reveals that a different actor has been selected for such a role can result in mixed reactions from audiences. On the other hand, passionate fan support has also made such casting choices happen, as in the case of Jim Krasinski becoming Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Despite excitement for Krasinski embodying the character fans have lobbied for him to play for years, even the actor himself confirmed this was an isolated incident as opposed to being the beginning of a long-running partnership.
"There aren't any discussions at all, the only discussion I had was actually in the second-to-last week of Jack Ryan," the actor revealed to The Wrap last month. "Kevin Feige called and said would you ever fly to L.A. and play in our sandbox for a day? I was honored to do it. I flew right from Budapest when we wrapped and went right to the Doctor Strange set. I'm a big fan of all those characters and that world, so to get to play in that sandbox for one day was a real thrill."
He added, "But yeah, being turned into spaghetti wasn't my end goal in life as far as how it goes in the Marvel universe, but you know what it was fun nonetheless."
If Esposito does end up joining the MCU, audiences will surely hope it's a casting decision that lasts more than one film. Stay tuned for details on the X-Men's future in the MCU.
Would you like to see Esposito take on Professor Xavier? Let us know in the comments!