Jake Schreier is rebooting the X-Men franchise for Marvel Studios, and all eyes are now on what the Thunderbolts* helmer has in the works for a fresh take on the mutant heroes.
If the rumours about Sadie Sink playing Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day are correct, then we can expect to meet the first member of the team as soon as this summer. Marvel Studios has to get the movie right, as these characters will almost certainly be the focal point of the next decade of MCU storytelling...if things go according to plan.
According to The Cosmic Circus, the idea is for the X-Men cast to "grow over several years and serve as a coming-of-age story." It also sounds like we'd start with the original five X-Men: Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast, and Iceman.
However, while they will be the "core" team, other mutants could appear, albeit not in "anything even remotely close to a lineup as big as X-Men '97." The report adds, "I think it’s the core 5 with 3 more. And they are not including Logan in this lineup."
As of now, it's supposedly just as likely that Hugh Jackman will continue playing Wolverine in the post-Avengers: Secret Wars MCU as it is Dafne Keen suits up as the new Wolverine. In other words, no decisions have been made, and Logan will probably be shevled for a while.
It would be "very difficult" for the new X-Men to show up in Avengers: Secret Wars right now if this report is to be believed. And, talking of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, it seems Marvel Studios is changing its approach to the franchise moving forward.
"New Avengers-wise, Marvel is planning to wait less time to make the next Avengers movie because they want to focus on the actual team and less on the big event team-ups," the site explains. "As for the Black Widow plot...I heard something interesting about a certain character who died, but her technology will be reused for another character who’ll take up her mantle."
That latter point ties into what we told you earlier today about plans for Bullseye in Daredevil: Born Again.
Jake Schreier's X-Men reboot is still being written—by Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear co-showrunner Joanna Calo—but it was rumoured last week that Odessa A'Zion is being eyed for Rogue, with Peter Claffey wanted for Beast. At this stage in production, a great many actors are likely on Marvel's list.
"Well, my favourite part about working in the Marvel world is honestly collaborating with Jake Schreier, who's a genius, and he has a very clear vision for what he wants to do with X-Men," Sung Jin recently explained. "I think he's a huge fan of the comics. He reread, you know, all the early comics lately."
"There's a lot of romance, there's a lot of heart, there's a lot of aspects of X-Men past. Just, you know, obviously the themes in politics and so, I think Jake wants to kind of, you know, breathe fresh life into this franchise," Sung Jin continued. "It's early, but we've been meeting with Kevin [Feige] and Lou [D’Esposito] regularly, and I think true fans will be excited."
X-Men doesn't have a release date, but is rumoured to begin shooting this year for a 2028 debut.