Giancarlo Esposito wants to play Professor X in an MCU X-Men movie

Kaleidoscope
(Image credit: Netflix)

Known for his villain roles, Giancarlo Esposito wants to play a good guy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"I have not worked for Marvel yet," Esposito told the crowd at TJH Superhero Car Show & Comic Con in San Antonio, Texas (via Nerdist). I’ve been in the room with them and talked to them. I’m gonna go for something that’s a little bit different. I’m gonna go and put it out in the universe that [I’d like to play] Professor X."

The actor is perhaps best known for his portrayal of drug lord Gustavo Fring in both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, cementing the character as one of TV's all-time greatest villains.

Esposito echoed the sentiment on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, praising the studio and its films. "I love what Marvel does, I love that fans can see me in this universe and are proposing not only one character, possibly Magneto, possibly Freeze," Esposito explained, naming both a bad guy in Marvel's X-Men and one of Batman's biggest foes in the DC comics. "But the biggest ask is Charles Xavier. I want to be a good guy!"

Added Esposito: "Charles is smart, he’s good. But I feel as if there may be some mileage with me and Marvel."

We won't see an X-Men movie in Marvel Phase 5 or 6, though we are finally seeing the Fantastic Four enter the MCU.

Esposito can be seen on newly released crime thriller Kaleidoscope, which is streaming now on Netflix. For more, check out our list of all the upcoming superhero movies flying your way in 2023 and beyond.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.