Peter Claffey is being reported for Hank McCoy in Marvel Studios' X-Men reboot, a casting move that pushes the film’s ensemble further along even before cameras roll. Knight Edge Media says the Irish actor has landed the part, but the report itself says the claim should still be treated as a rumor.
Claffey, a former Connacht Rugby player, made his stage debut at Dublin's Abbey Theatre in A Whistle in the Dark by Tom Murphy. He later appeared in 2022's Bad Sisters and Wreck, and has a role lined up opposite Cillian Murphy in Small Things Like These, giving Marvel Studios a performer with both stage and screen credits behind the reported Beast role.
Marvel Studios and the X-Men reboot
The X-Men reboot is already taking shape around Jake Schreier, with Sonny Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo working on a new draft of Michael Lesslie's script. That puts Claffey’s reported casting inside a larger buildout rather than a single isolated choice, and it keeps the focus on how Marvel Studios is assembling the original team from the comics.
At D23, the project’s main cast was announced with Sadie Sink, Inde Navarrette, Kit Connor, Christopher Abbott, Samara Weaving, Maya Boyd and Adam Driver. Asa Germann is also set to play Angel, while Beast and Ice-Man are expected to round out the original team of five from the comics, which leaves the reported Hank McCoy placement as one of the more consequential pieces in the lineup.
Beast, Ice-Man, and the rumor
Charles Melton was said to be in the running to play Beast before a scheduling issue forced him to drop out. That earlier shift helps explain why the role has stayed fluid, and why a report naming Claffey carries interest without crossing into official studio language.
Kevin Feige has already framed the X-Men as more than a single character play, saying, “Acquiring the X-Men rights isn't just about... for example, Wolverine is an outstanding character, and we were able to team him up with Deadpool, which is great. But the X-Men are far more than just Wolverine, far more than the original team; fundamentally, it's a universe, a multi-stage saga. Much of that is what we're working towards.” He also said, “We’re constantly changing, constantly evolving, but having some guidance helps us act more purposefully, especially with X-Men—it’s already had 10 movies, some very, very good, some I think haven’t lived up to expectations—how do we plan the 'mutant saga' in a very grand way?”
Early 2027 and the cast clock
Deadline says cameras on X-Men won't start rolling until early 2027, so the reported Claffey casting sits in the middle of a long runway rather than a finished package. Daniel Richtman has also said the studio is still looking to cast a female role that would grow in the sequel, a male POC role who would be either Native American or Latino, and an Asian female supporting role, which means Marvel Studios is still filling key pieces while this rumor circulates.
For now, Claffey is the name to watch because the report puts him at the center of one of Marvel Studios' most important unfinished decisions. Until the studio speaks, the practical reading is simple: the roster is moving, Beast is in play, and the final shape of the X-Men reboot is still being assembled.
