The trades recently revealed that Thunderbolts*/*The New Avengers director Jake Schreier is set to direct Marvel Studios' X-Men reboot. Casting rumours have been swirling for several months, though, suggesting he'll have a limited role in deciding who plays the MCU's mutants.
That's par for the course for any filmmaker who works on these movies, and two more big names have been added to the mix today.
Talking on The Hot Mic podcast, Jeff Sneider said he's heard that, similar to Vanessa Kirby in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Marvel Studios is building the X-Men cast around Charles Xavier/Professor X, Scott Summers/Cyclops, and Jean Grey/Marvel Girl.
Sneider no longer believes Harris Dickinson will play Cyclops, but following rumblings that Denzel Washington is being eyed for Magneto, Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man star Colman Domingo is reportedly in contention for Professor X.
He's also learned that Twisters and Fresh star Daisy Edgar-Jones is the latest candidate to play Jean. She's a fantastic actress, and it's hard to imagine anyone finding fault with her casting if she were to be cast as the future Phoenix.
As for Domingo, that's a fascinating possibility for Professor X and a huge get for Marvel Studios if he ultimately decides to play the X-Men founder. He's eager to join the MCU and has spoken highly of his experience with Marvel Animation.
It was recently reported that Kevin Feige has "told colleagues he has a 10-year plan for the [X-Men]." The team's future being mapped out like that is extremely exciting, and potentially even confirms reports about us seeing mutants in team-up projects, solo outings, and small screen spin-offs.
Addressing the X-Men's future in the MCU, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said last year, "I think you will see that continues in our next few movies with some X-Men players that you might recognize. Right after that, the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men."
"Again, [it’s] one of those dreams come true. We finally have the X-Men back." Reading between the lines, it appears the "Mutant Saga" is very nearly upon us as we rocket to the end of the ongoing Multiverse Saga.
Marvel Studios has been sitting on the rights to the X-Men for the better part of six years, but after critical and commercial flops like Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants, the characters being put on ice for a while was a must. Access to Earth-10005 has also proved an easy way to add mutants to the Multiverse Saga.
Marvel Studios' X-Men reboot doesn't have a confirmed release date but will likely kick off the next Saga of storytelling post-Avengers: Secret Wars.