Thunderbolts* Director Jake Schreier May Helm X-Men Film!!
Less than two weeks after the release of Thunderbolts*, Marvel seems very satisfied with director Jake Schreier.
Deadline exclusively reported this week that Jake Schreier, director of Marvel's latest film Thunderbolts*, is in early talks with Marvel and may direct an X-Men movie. The report indicates that after a meeting with Marvel this week, Jake Schreier has become the top contender to direct the film. The screenplay is written by Michael Lesslie (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.) In fact, Thunderbolts* is Marvel's best-reviewed film since Spider-Man: No Way Home three years ago, and Jake Schreier also directed the critically acclaimed Netflix miniseries Beef, which won the Emmy for Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film, making him a strong candidate.
Although Marvel has not yet announced a release date for the film, the fact that they have begun searching for a director suggests that this movie is very likely to be among the first batch of films they develop after Avengers: Secret Wars. Other potential projects include Black Panther 3 and Shang-Chi 2. Marvel currently has release dates reserved for July and November 2027, and February, May, and November 2028, and it is believed that X-Men will be released within one of these windows.
Following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, Marvel Studios finally gained access to the X-Men and Fantastic Four characters for their projects. Notably, Patrick Stewart returned as Professor X/Charles Xavier in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Kelsey Grammer reprised his role as Beast/Hank McCoy in the post-credits scene of The Marvels. Last year's Deadpool & Wolverine was their first film to feature X-Men characters as leads, with the return of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan. However, Marvel may reboot the franchise after Avengers: Secret Wars, casting a new set of actors for the roles. Additionally, they released the animated series X-Men '97 on Disney+ last year, continuing the storyline of X-Men: The Animated Series from over thirty years ago, which also received very positive reviews.
Next, Marvel will release The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July, kicking off Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Next year's Avengers: Doomsday will not only see the return of the The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast, but the following X-Men characters are also confirmed to return, finally officially integrating Fox's Marvel characters into the MCU and allowing for more connections with the Avengers:
Kelsey Grammer as Beast/Hank McCoy
Patrick Stewart as Professor X/Charles Xavier
Ian McKellen as Magneto/Erik Lehnsherr
Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner
Rebecca Romijn as Mystique/Raven Darkhölme
James Marsden as Cyclops/Scott Summers
Channing Tatum as Gambit/Remy LeBeau
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Photo: Marvel
Source: Deadline