As Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues to web rings around the box office, and Marvel continues to tease potential castings for its upcoming X-Men movie, many fans are getting over their “superhero fatigue,” and feeling energized by comic-related film and television projects on the horizon. Recently, reports of Samara Weaving and Kit Connor joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Emma Frost and Scott Summers, respectively, have people like me feeling optimistic about the foundation of Marvel’s mutant landscape. Still, the rumors don’t stop there, with plenty of people whispering that Marvel will officially announce its X-Men cast at the studio’s upcoming D23 convention next week.

Finding Scott Summers

Before reports emerged pointing to Kit Connor as Marvel’s favorite for Cyclops, earlier rumors favoring Asa Butterfield or Asa Germann were quickly shot down. Word is Cooper Hoffman was also in the mix, though scheduling conflicts ultimately kept him from signing on the dotted line. Connor strikes me as the ideal choice to carry Scott Summers’ quiet intensity, and I’d love to see him lead the team if Marvel decides to go that route.

Xavier, Magneto, and Marvel’s Next Big Heavy Hitters

According to other X-related rumors, Bill Skarsgård is supposedly on the short list to play Professor X, with Christopher Abbott (Broadway’s Death of a Salesman) and Tom Pelphrey (Task, Outer Range) also testing for the role. There’s also talk of Adam Driver taking on the role of Magneto, but I’ve heard he might be playing Sebastian Shaw as well. Which would be an inspired bit of casting if Marvel goes the Hellfire Club route?

Welcome to the Hellfire Club?

If Weaving enters the X-Men cinematic universe as Emma Frost, and Marvel is looking to cast someone as Sebastian Shaw, could we look forward to a new iteration of the Hellfire Club? What’s that, you ask? The Hellfire Club is an elite, secretive society of wealthy and influential power brokers in Marvel Comics. I’ll say this much: if casting calls start leaking for key players like Selene, Shinobi Shaw, or even Kate Pryde and Madelyne Pryor, bet on the Hellfire Club anchor-holding Marvel’s next era.

With so many mutants to choose from, who are the characters you’d like to see in Marvel’s X-Men movies? Do you want an old-school approach to the team, or a story that aligns more with the Krakoan era? As long as Marvel doesn’t recycle aspects of Fox’s X-Men franchise, things are about to get very interesting.