The X-Men film universe was started back in 2000 and brought to the screen 13 movies that got mainstream audiences to get to know the mutants of the Marvel universe. It is not an overstatement to say that other than DC properties, the X-Men film universe could have easily rivaled the juggernaut that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The X-Men have such a rich history and a vast array of characters with extensive stories. Aside from the fact that these movies had been going for such a long time before ending with New Mutants in 2020, these movies were so indulgent in recasting side characters (and some main characters) to the point that it could come as a surprise if any character were to be played by the same actor in more than one movie. This list is going to show you only 10 characters who were recast throughout the movies.
1. Colossus
Colossus is a fan favourite character in the comics, and is often depicted as being in a relationship with fellow X-Man Kitty Pryde. Their relationship was never shown in the movies, and instead, Kitty was seen more with Bobby Drake aka Iceman. This was not the only blow to the beloved character. He was also underutilized and when he finally had the chance to shine in a movie, he was recast. He was first played by Donald MacKinnon in X-Men, then Daniel Cudmore in X2, The Last Stand, and Days of Future Past, and was recast when the character was to appear in Deadpool due to conditions that Cudmore felt were not good enough for him to agree with. Cudmore was told that he would not appear in human form and that his voice would be dubbed over. He felt that this was a cheat and decided not to accept the deal.
2. Kitty Pryde
This is probably the most obvious entry in this list. Kitty Pryde is another fan-favourite character in the comics, and she has shown a lot of growth since her first appearance. From an insecure girl trying hard to fit in and barely coping with the Danger Room exercises, she went on to lead the X-Men on missions, save the whole world, and trained in Samurai arts. She is no joke, though none of that happens in the movies (aside from her helping Wolverine go back in time in Days of Future Past). She appeared in all three films of the first trilogy, and in Days of Future Past. In X-Men, she was played by Sumela Kay, then in X2, she was recast and played by Katie Stuart, and it looked like they finally settled on a good choice when they cast Ellen Page (now Elliot), because she (now he) went on to play the role again in Days of Future Past.
3. Hank McCoy
No, we’re not talking about Nicholas Hoult here. This is a case of a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo that Hank McCoy made in X2. When in the bar, Mr. Laurio neglected to look at the television, where a Hank McCoy was addressing the issue pertaining to the attack on the White House by the Nightcrawler and mutantkind in general. It was a very brief cameo and Hank in that movie was played by Steve Bacic, before being recast and played by Kelsey Grammer in The Last Stand and Days of Future Past. We can only assume that Brett Ratner had not noticed the cameo in X2 when he cast Grammer in The Last Stand.
4. Sabertooth
This was one of the most nonsensical and random recasts in the history of X-Men recasting. Sabertooth was played by Tyler Mane in X-Men, but was recast in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and played by Liev Schreiber. Both were good in their roles, but one has to wonder just what was going on when they cast Schreiber instead of getting back Mane, considering Mane actually contacted the production team and stated that he wanted to join the cast and play the character. It is also more puzzling because Schreiber was called in to play William Stryker, and you can actually see the resemblance between him and Brian Cox if you look closely enough.
5. William Stryker
This recast was also crazy and random. It did not make any sense at all and only added to the feeling that the X-Men universe became more disjointed as more movies came out. William Stryker was first played by Brian Cox in the original trilogy, which was set in the not too distant future. He was then played by Danny Huston in X-Men Origins, which was meant to be set 15 years before X2 (we don’t know if it actually was). He was then played by Josh Helman in Days of Future Past and Apocalypse. This comes to confuse people, as Helman portrayed a Stryker in the same time period as Huston’s take. So, what went on? What happened? Helman was first cast as Juggernaut, but then ended up playing Stryker. What happened? What were they thinking?
6. Yukio
This one came out of the blue as well. People like to use the time travelling done by Wolverine to justify the change in appearance of some characters…and that’s a good justification for it. But why was it necessary to recast them? Yukio was just fine the way she was in The Wolverine. In The Wolverine, she was played by Rila Fukushima. In Deadpool 2, she was recast and played by Shioli Kutsuna. There was never an official reason given for it. It just happened. At that point, we had accepted that anyone not playing Wolverine, Magneto or Charles Xavier could be recast at any point.
7. Pyro
Only longtime fans remember this guy. He was in the beginning and appeared in all three of the original trilogy movies. He was known for his rivalry with Iceman in them, and their rivalry ended with Iceman headbutting him after turning into his ice form for the first time ever during their fight. He first appeared in X-Men, in Storm’s class, trying to light a fire behind his chair. Iceman turned the flame into ice and it fell, breaking into pieces and disrupting the class. He was played by Alex Burton in X-Men, then inexplicably recast and replaced with Aaron Stanford. What’s more shocking is that aside from his appearance, his accent changed as well.
8. Sunspot
Sunspot made his debut in Days of Future Past, in the doomed future timeline overrun with sentinels bent on ending the mutant race. In the comics, he is a Brazilian son of a CEO and has…well…fire powers. They’re not as straightforward as The Human Torch’s (in the comics), but they are essentially fire powers. He was played by Adan Canto in Days of Future Past. He was a nice addition to the cast. Things got exciting when Sunspot was announced to be appearing in the New Mutants movie. The downside was that Canto would not be playing the character again. Instead, he was recast, and was replaced by Henry Zaga. Henry Zaga had more to work with in regards to portraying the character, and we got to see more of what Sunspot was like when he wasn’t fighting for his life and getting killed by sentinels. We still would have liked to see more continuity between the characters by keeping the actors that portray them.
9. Banshee
This one may come as a surprise to many of you, but if you watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine with a very keen eye, you’ll notice that Banshee was in the movie. When Wolverine was on Long Island and came across the caged mutants, he saw many different ones, and one of them had half of his face covered. He was a redhead too. There aren’t too many redhaired mutants that need their mouth covered in order to stop them from using their powers in Marvel canon. That was undoubtedly a Banshee easter egg. But then, what about the one we saw in First Class played by Caleb Landry Jones, you ask? Well, it was another case of recasting, probably because the director hadn’t noticed the detail, or just chose to ignore it.
1. Quicksilver
The last one on this list is Quicksilver. Yes, Quicksilver was also recast in these movies. Just like Banshee, he appeared in X-Men Origins when Wolverine found caged mutants. He was strapped to his cell and was shown constantly trying (and failing) to run. His giveaway was the way he was trying to escape by building up speed, and his signature white hair. He was played by an unknown actor, and was later recast in Days of Future Past and played by Evan Peters.
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