Following persistent rumors that Simon Kinberg was being considered to direct X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Deadline has now confirmed that the long-time X-Men writer/producer will indeed helm the next installment in the mutant saga.
Fans were a bit worried when the first-time director's name was mentioned in connection with the film, so this news probably won't go down too well - that said, Kinberg has been the creative backbone of the franchise for many years and is well versed in the mythology, so hopefully he'll surprise us.
It's also been confirmed that Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender will reprise their lead roles of Mystique, Beast, Professor Xavier and Magneto, while X-Men: Apocalypse recruits Alexandra Shipp, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, and Kodi Smit-McPhee will also return. Jessica Chastain is in talks to play Lilandra.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix has a release date of November 2, 2018.
Hat tip to
Omega Underground who actually posted the Kinberg news first.