Following the recent news that Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier was being eyed to helm Marvel Studios' X-Men reboot, it looks like we have confirmation that the filmmaker has officially signed on to step behind the camera.
Though things do fall through from time to time, or course, when any director or actor is announced as being "in talks" for a particular project, it's usually a pretty good sign that they have already worked out a deal. Variety did mention that Schreier has been "tapped" for the gig in a recent article, but it was generally assumed that the trade was simply noting the previous report and wasn't providing an update.
Now, Black Panther director and Ironheart executive producer Ryan Coogler has left little doubt that Schreier will be the man to assemble Marvel's team of mutant heroes for their first big-screen outing since 20th Century Fox's Dark Phoenix.
The initial news that Schreier was in line to direct X-Men was met with something of a mixed response. Though Thunderbolts* was a big hit with critics and Marvel fans, in general, the most recent MCU movie did not fare well at the box office, and the filmmaker is seen by some as a "safe but unremarkable" choice for such an important movie.
Casting is reportedly set to get underway very soon (if it hasn't already), and the likes of Harris Dickinson, Margaret Qualley, and Julia Butters are said to be on the studio's radar (they were reportedly in contention to play Cyclops, Rogue and Kitty Pryde, but we don't know if this is still the case), along with Alien: Romulus star David Jonsson and Trinity Bliss, who may be in line to play Jubilee.
Other names that have popped up in the rumor mill include Hunter Schafer (Mystique), Ayo Edebiri (Storm) and Javier Bardem (Mr. Sinister).
Here's what Kevin Feige had to say about his "10-year plan" for the Mutant Saga in a recent interview.
"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."
Macbeth (2015), The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) and Assassin's Creed (2016) scribe Michael Lesslie penned the script, but we wouldn't be surprised if another writer (or two) were brought in to give it another pass before the movie enters production.
No release date has been set.