Tue, 19 February 2008 at 7:03 pm

Will.i.am is Kestrel (X-Men) — EXCLUSIVE

Hip-hop producer/rapper Will.i.am is set to play Kestrel/John Wraith in the new X-men Origins: Wolverine movie, sources exclusively tell JustJared.com.

According to Wiki, Kestrel was part of Team X along with Wolverine, Sabretooth, Maverick, Mastodon, and Silver Fox. Kestrel is a powerful teleporter capable of getting the team out of sticky situations after their job was finished. His alter ego is John Wraith. Like the other members of Team X, he was given an artificial age suppressant so he was likely much older than he looked. His time as a secret agent and a member of the Weapon X program has left John somewhat paranoid. His house is a veritable death trap, as is the yard around it - John trusts no one.

They’re both even wearing a similar hat and have the beard/mustache thing goin’ on!

What do you think of Will playing an X-Men — YAY OR NAY?

Photos: Frazer Harrison/Getty
Posted to: Will.I.Am
Related posts:

JJ Links Around The Web

Sarah Jessica Parker on her twins: This is what we got - PopEater
Lindsay Lohan wears some torn-up tights - TheSuperficial
Bindi Irwin stars in a new Free Willy adventure - JustJaredJr
Zoe Saldana visits the Late Show - LaineyGossip
Robert Pattinson may be hitting the pages of Vogue - Celebuzz
Get the fashion roundup from the Nine premiere - PopSugar
Lourdes Leon and Madonna hit the red carpet together - Dlisted

Jemal Countess/Getty

27 Comments

Pages: [1] 2 » Show All

# 1

sarah @ 02/19/2008 at 7:20 pm

WILL!!!

first? noo…

@reply | Flag This

# 2

luckyL @ 02/19/2008 at 7:22 pm

I really f****** hope he doesn’t suck. The cast was so awesome so far. Maybe he gets like one line. This does seem lame though.

@reply | Flag This

# 3

lillie @ 02/19/2008 at 7:22 pm

wow
will.i.am’s going to start acting? :)

i can’t wait to see the movie.

@reply | Flag This

# 4

TheTabloidsChic @ 02/19/2008 at 7:24 pm

Nice!

http://thetabloids.blogspot.com

@reply | Flag This

# 5

Orange Clockwork @ 02/19/2008 at 7:29 pm

I don’t believe it. I JUST. DON’T. BELIEVE IT.

@reply | Flag This

# 6

troy @ 02/19/2008 at 7:33 pm

Well I know that he appeared as God in an episode of “Joan of Arcadia” so he does have some limited acting experience. I don’t know anything about the character he’s playing so I don’t know if this is a good fit or not. But I’m worried that the movie will be top heavy with too many cameos.

@reply | Flag This

# 7

[☆F a m o u s☆] @ 02/19/2008 at 8:06 pm

nay, no, booooo! noooooooo!

@reply | Flag This

# 8

troy @ 02/19/2008 at 9:28 pm

Oh for the record and I know this is going to be come across as geeky but what the hell, that’s life. The character Will.I.Am. is apparently going to be playing isn’t an X-Men. He’s a mutant, not all mutants are X-Men.

@reply | Flag This

# 9

Tanda @ 02/19/2008 at 9:55 pm

WTH?! They are casting solely on looks it seems. They aren’t looking at acting ability…just if you look like the art in the comic book!

@reply | Flag This

# 10

WTF??? @ 02/19/2008 at 10:40 pm

20th Century Fox just can’t help but muck up their own movies with this kind of casting.

@reply | Flag This

# 11

Arab.Aquarius @ 02/20/2008 at 2:41 am

interesting, i am not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing
http://arabaquarius.blogspot.com/

@reply | Flag This

# 12

wedding peach @ 02/20/2008 at 3:04 am

I’m sure he’ll be terrific. He seems like a fun and go-all-out kinda guy. Just thrill ‘em with that hat and intense look.

@reply | Flag This

# 13

Christopher Edwards @ 02/20/2008 at 3:19 am

This move is over now!!!!!!

Rappers cant act!!!!!

@reply | Flag This

# 14

**** @ 02/20/2008 at 3:38 am

I hate him and his watery eyes. He looks like a friggin hobo with a drinking problem. Unwashed and smelly.

@reply | Flag This

# 15

black @ 02/20/2008 at 4:50 am

Oh goood……………..not another one of those damn singers who believes he could act……

—————————LEAVE IT——————————————————

@reply | Flag This

# 16

Original Shar @ 02/20/2008 at 10:58 am

My son is still pissed off about the X-Men: Last Stand. He is a die hard X-Men fan and he said Brett Radner ruined that movie. He’s going to flip when he finds this out. Like someone said above this movie is over already. Bad choice.

@reply | Flag This

# 17

Rodiii @ 02/20/2008 at 11:48 am

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! it cant be true this is bulklshit!
it would be a disaster for the x-men series.

@reply | Flag This

# 18

mel b @ 02/21/2008 at 11:28 pm

NOooooo, I can’t stand his music. He probably agreed to do the music or something. Ugh, i cant stand him.

@reply | Flag This

# 19

joan @ 02/22/2008 at 7:53 am

YAY! i love will.i.am! but i dont know if he can act but SERIOUSLY IM SO HAPPY! love to see him act.

@reply | Flag This

# 20

Jack @ 02/27/2008 at 7:33 pm

will.i.am! Very Nice! Can’t wait!

@reply | Flag This

# 21

ihateeveryone @ 12/12/2008 at 2:58 pm

Will I Am? Why not just pick a bum off the street. They’ll probably do just as well.

Since when did rapping = acting?

I wish Hollywood would just stick to hiring people who… oh, I don’t know, actually studied and practice the craft of acting. I mean, I wouldn’t ask the kid who bags my groceries to sing opera.

@reply | Flag This

# 22

jill @ 12/27/2008 at 5:10 pm

Though I think he will live up to par, I would have figured they would have gotten like Andre 3000 to do the part

@reply | Flag This

# 23

GP @ 02/13/2009 at 12:53 pm

In truth I here alot of complaining about will being Kestrel. Alotta comments about was50 cent on vacation. Have you actually seen Kestrel before? He’s not a big buff guy even in the age of apacolypse series he was kinda skinny. Wil sorta does look like him face it.

@reply | Flag This

# 24

auckland @ 04/30/2009 at 9:16 am

I just saw the movie, and yes Wil does look similar to Kestrel but…..COME ON! You mean to tell me there arent any other new black actors in hollywood that could play that role? Wil is a genius in music, but there is no need to put a musician in a role of an actor. Thats just disrespect all around, to the character, to the comic, and to the fans. Very disapointing……. Dont get me started on Liev as Sabretooth…..