ANAHEIM, Calif. — The X-Men are finally assembling in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with a surprising archvillain.

Marvel Studios officially unveiled its long-awaited “X-Men” movie at Disney’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event on Friday, Aug. 14, revealing a new film, and a new saga, coming May 5, 2028.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige made the announcement during Disney’s blockbuster movie presentation at the Honda Center, introducing the cast.

Sadie Sink stars as the powerful telepathic mutant Jean Grey, a role the “Stranger Things” star debuted as an antagonist in this summer’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” Kit Connor will play the role of Cyclops, a mutant who shoots energy from his eyes and is also Jean’s love interest from the comic books and the movies. Samara Weaving will play Emma Frost, another mutant telepath who’s been both hero and villain in Marvel Comics mythology.

There were some seismic casting surprises. “Obsession” breakout star Inde Navarrette will star as Rogue, Christopher Abbott as Prof. X, and Maya Boyd as Storm.

“They’ll just met backstage,” Feige said of the super group coming to the big screen.

But the biggest surprise was the casting of Adam Driver, no less than archvillain Kylo Ren in the “Star Wars” franchise. There have been conflicting reports about Driver joining the “X-Men” project and the MCU in general. And Driver was not immediately brought to the stage. But the iconoclastic, two-time Oscar-nominated actor was introduced on video screen, already working at an empty Pinewood Studios outside London.

Driver said he’d be playing the role of Nathaniel Millbury, an alias for the super-villain Mister Sinister.

“Kevin and I have been talking for years about joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” Driver said in the video. “I think we’ve finally found the perfect film at the perfect time, with characters I feel very deeply about.”

The movie will be directed by Jake Schreier, who previously directed Marvel’s 2025 hit “Thunderbolts.”

Disney gained the movie rights to the X-Men when it acquired most of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019. Marvel has spent the ensuing years gradually bringing mutant characters into the MCU while keeping the biggest names largely on the sidelines.

Patrick Stewart returned to play an alternate version of Professor Charles Xavier in 2022’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” while Hugh Jackman made his blockbuster comeback as Wolverine opposite Ryan Reynolds in 2024’s “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

The superhero franchise began on the big screen with 2000’s “X-Men,” starring Jackman as Wolverine, Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Halle Berry as Storm, James Marsden as Cyclops and Famke Janssen as Jean Grey. And several of these former X-Men actors, including McKellen and Marsden, will appear in Marvel’s upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday” (Dec. 18).