Marvel Studios has selected Australian actress Samara Weaving to portray the telepathic mutant Emma Frost in its upcoming feature film reboot of The X-Men. Directed by Thunderbolts filmmaker Jake Schreier, the project marks the first standalone feature dedicated to establishing a new core team of mutants within the Marvel Cinematic Universe following Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Schreier finalized Weaving for the role following an extensive casting search and audition process. The film’s screenplay is being written by Lee Sung Jin (Beef) and Joanna Calo (The Bear).

First created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne in 1980’s The Uncanny X-Men No. 129, Emma Frost is recognized in Marvel Comics lore for her powerful telepathic abilities and secondary organic diamond transformation. Initially introduced as an antagonist and member of the Hellfire Club, the character eventually evolved into a prominent hero and co-leader of the X-Men. Live-action iterations of the character were previously portrayed by January Jones in 2011’s X-Men: First Class and Tahyna Tozzi in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Weaving’s feature credits include the lead role in Ready or Not, along with appearances in Scream VI, The Babysitter, Bill & Ted Face the Music, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Her recent filmography also includes Ready or Not 2: Here I Come and Over Your Dead Body.

The casting news arrives alongside major announcements for the broader Marvel slate, including Ryan Gosling starring in a planned Ghost Rider feature and David Jonsson joining Black Panther 3. Meanwhile, legacy mutant characters from previous 20th Century Fox releases, featuring performers such as Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and James Marsden, are slated to appear in Avengers: Doomsday.

Marvel Studios has not yet attached an official theatrical release date to The X-Men.