How X-Men’s Tye Sheridan Feels About Cyclops Being Recast For The MCU

Cyclops in Dark Phoenix

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a unique place right now. We're currently occupying the interim period between Phases, as Black Widow has been delayed a number of times. Additionally, Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox opens up the possibility of characters like the Fantastic Four and X-Men to finally join the behemoth franchise. The latter would likely require a new cast of stars, and recent Cyclops actor Tye Sheridan recently spoke to someone else playing Scott Summers.

Cyclops is one of the most iconic X-Men characters of all time. And as such, he's already made a ton of appearances on the big screen, played by three different actors throughout the X-Men franchise. The most recent was Tye Sheridan, who played Scott in X-Men: Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix. When asked about another performer wearing the signature red visor, Sheridan said:

No one really owns those characters right? I was excited and honored to play Scott Summers after James Marsden. I always looked up to that guy and I always thought he was super cool in those movies and a good guy and a great actor and I think a lot of people would probably have... They're part of the X-Men franchise now, probably feel the same way towards, all the actors that played the roles before them, it's just, I think it's an honor to kind of fill the shoes if something that's great or someone that's great. I don't think I would feel weird, you know, as long as it... I think they're doing, the cast is doing, the story justice and they're doing the X-Men world justice.

Well, that was certainly a mature way of looking at things. While Tye Sheridan likely would have loved a longer tenure playing Cyclops, he understands that the X-Men are beloved characters that don't actually belong to the actors. After all, he took on the mantle of Scott Summers from James Marsden, who made a strong impression in the original trilogy of movies.

Tye Sheridan's comments to ComicBook truly shows how much the young actor understands the legacy of his signature X-Men character. Comic book heroes are often played by multiple actors, just look at how many version of Batman have hit the big screen over the years. Cyclops has also been no exception, as prior to Sheridan's involvement in Apocalypse, the character was also briefly played by Tim Pocock in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Of course, Tye Sheridan did get specific about the future of his signature X-Men character. The Ready Player One star wants the story and cast to do the X-Men justice, which would help Sheridan pass on Cyclops' visor to the next actor. Unfortunately, there's currently no indication to if/when the mutants will show up in the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants were the final two installments of the X-Men franchise as we know it, with the latter movie only just arriving this October. As such, it would make sense of Kevin Feige and company waited a few years before bringing the mutants into the MCU. There are plenty of fan theories regarding how, with some believing the key is in Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch. Only time will tell.

CinemaBlend will keep you updated on all things X-Men and Marvel as more details become public. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next movie experience.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.