Adam Driver tells Kimmel why he finally said yes to X-Men

Adam Driver told Jimmy Kimmel he grew up playing X-Men with his cousin Tony, who got to be Sabretooth while Driver was Wolverine. Now he’s Mister Sinister in Marvel’s May 5, 2028 reboot.

Adam Driver turned Marvel down for years. On Thursday, Nov. 5, he told Jimmy Kimmel what finally changed his mind, and part of the answer goes back to his childhood.

“I was a big X-Men fan when I was a kid,” Driver said on Disney-owned ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. He and his cousin Tony used to play X-Men together. Tony was Sabretooth. Driver was Wolverine. “It’s a big deal,” he said.

What sealed it, he said, was the X-Men name, director Jake Schreier‘s idea for the movie, and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. “It all kind of came together,” Driver said. “The script is really cool.”

He admitted to some nerves, too. “A lot of people are going to watch it,” Driver said. “And if it’s bad, a lot of people will see you being bad.”

Then came the cousin follow-up. Asked about Tony, Driver deadpanned that they don’t talk anymore, then quickly took it back. “I love my cousin,” he said.

The comments are new. The casting isn’t. Feige revealed the X-Men cast Aug. 14 at the Disney Entertainment Showcase during D23 at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Driver appeared by video to say he’s playing Nathaniel Milbury, a name comics fans know as Mister Sinister. The movie opens in theaters May 5, 2028.

The Kimmel stop came a day after Driver told The Rich Eisen Show “No more Star Wars,” after Disney passed on his Ben Solo movie, as we reported Thursday.

Here’s Driver’s full Kimmel interview:

Why did Adam Driver keep turning down Marvel?

Feige has joked about it in public. “It’s a tradition to Zoom with him and then he passes,” he said on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast in July. He added that Driver is “usually up front about how he’s feeling.”

Driver hasn’t listed the roles he passed on. In 2023, Jeff Sneider reported that Driver turned down Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four because he “couldn’t connect with the character on the page.” Marvel never confirmed that.

On Kimmel, Driver kept it simple. “This one felt like the right time,” he said. “And then it’s X-Men.”

At D23, he told the crowd he and Feige had talked “for years” about the MCU. “I think we finally found the perfect film,” he said, The Associated Press reported.

Who is Mister Sinister?

In the comics, he’s Nathaniel Essex, a 19th-century London scientist obsessed with mutant genetics. Writer Chris Claremont and artist Marc Silvestri created him, and his first full appearance came in The Uncanny X-Men No. 221 in 1987.

Sinister has a long fixation on Scott Summers and Jean Grey and what their bloodlines could produce. He has used the Milbury name as a cover while keeping tabs on Scott.

That makes the casting extra handy. Marvel already has Kit Connor as Cyclops and Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, so Driver’s villain comes with a built-in grudge list.

Who else is in Marvel’s X-Men?

Feige brought the main team out at D23:

• Sadie Sink: Jean Grey

• Kit Connor: Scott Summers, aka Cyclops

• Christopher Abbott: Professor Charles Xavier

• Samara Weaving: Emma Frost

• Inde Navarrette: Rogue

• Maya Boyd: Storm

Schreier, who directed Thunderbolts*, is behind the camera. Lee Sung Jin of Beef and Joanna Calo of The Bear wrote the script, AP reported. Deadline reported Nov. 2 that Karate Kid: Legends star Ben Wang is circling Iceman. Marvel hasn’t confirmed that.

Where can I watch the X-Men cartoon Adam Driver loved?

On Disney+. Driver said the animated show “was right in my generation.” X-Men: The Animated Series premiered on Fox Kids in 1992, when Driver was 8, and ran until 1997. All five seasons stream on Disney+.

Its sequel, X-Men ’97, is on Disney+ too. Season 2 premiered July 1 with nine episodes, Marvel said. That’s a solid family binge before 2028, and a lot less pressure than playing Wolverine in the backyard.

When does Paper Tiger come out?

Driver was on Kimmel to promote Paper Tiger, James Gray’s crime drama with Miles Teller and Scarlett Johansson. Driver and Teller play brothers whose big business deal turns out to be a scam that tangles them up with the Russian mob.

Neon opens it in select theaters Nov. 13 and expands it nationwide Nov. 20. With that plot, it’s more of a parents’ night out than a family movie night.

Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.

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Hat Tips:

• Jimmy Kimmel Live (Nov. 5, 2026), Driver’s interview and official video

• The Blast via Yahoo Entertainment (Nov. 6, 2026), Driver’s quotes, including the cousin Tony story and the “came together” line

• SuperHeroHype (Nov. 6, 2026), Driver’s comments on the animated series and his nerves

• Laughing Place (Nov. 1, 2026), Kimmel’s guest lineup and the Paper Tiger booking

• Entertainment Weekly (Nov. 6, 2026), the tip on Driver’s comments

• The Associated Press (Aug. 15, 2026), the D23 cast reveal, Driver’s D23 quotes, the writers and May 2028 date

• ABC7 (Aug. 15, 2026), the May 5, 2028 release date and D23 Showcase details

• WJLA (July 21, 2026), Kevin Feige’s Happy Sad Confused comments

• ComicBookMovie (July 28, 2023), Jeff Sneider’s Fantastic Four report

• Wikipedia (Nov. 6, 2026), Mister Sinister’s comics history

• Marvel.com (May 27, 2026), the X-Men ’97 Season 2 date and episode count

• TheWrap (June 25, 2026), Paper Tiger’s release dates and plot

• Deadline (Nov. 2, 2026), the Ben Wang Iceman report

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