It’s gone down in comic book movie folklore that Jon Hamm was lined up to play iconic X-Men villain Mr. Sinister in The New Mutants, but any plans to introduce the Mad Men alum as the nefarious Nathaniel Essex were scrapped before he even had the chance to shoot any footage.
Not one to be deterred, the two-time Golden Globe winner has remained upbeat about his chances in getting to play in the superhero sandbox eventually, whether it’s as Sinister or somebody else entirely. Now that the merry band of mutants are under the stewardship of Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, the door is wide open for any number of actors to board the biggest franchise in the business, and Hamm is certainly hoping that he’s one of them.
When quizzed in an interview with ComicBook as to whether or not he’s still seeking out an MCU gig, the Top Gun: Maverick star admitted that he’s keeping his fingers crossed, before once more underlining his credentials as a lifelong comic book nerd.
“Fingers crossed,” Hamm teased. “That’s all I can say about any of that stuff. I have an original, it’s in pretty good shape, of the four original Wolverine miniseries that came out in the ’80s,” Hamm said. “I have an original four or six of the Elektra: Assassin series. I have a lot of John Byrne Daredevil, a lot of Bill Sienkiewicz stuff. I have a lot of X-Men stuff from the John Byrne era, I’ve got some John Byrne Thor. I’ve got a lot of good stuff. It’s all packed away nice and tight and airtight in my closet but I haven’t revisited it in a while.”
X-Men news may or may not be forthcoming at this weekend’s D23 Expo, but given that Mr. Sinister is a villain that hasn’t been seen in live-action before, it definitely can’t be ruled out that Hamm could end up getting the nod to bring him to life. He’d be a great fit for the part, that’s for sure, and fans would most definitely be on board with the idea.
