Ever since Disney and Fox’s merger was made official just over five years ago, Marvel fans have been imagining what it might look like for the X-Men to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now we know which screenwriter will be the person behind making that happen, and it’s an exciting pick.
The X-Men Reboot Has Found Its Writer
Michael Lesslie, who was recently behind the screenplay for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, is reportedly in talks to write the next live-action X-Men movie, per Deadline. The news comes following word that Marvel Studios was setting up meetings to hear pitches back in the fall.
Marvel Studios reportedly made the decision that Michael Lesslie would be the writer late last week, and will next be looking at directors to collaborate with the studio’s head, Kevin Feige, along with Lesslie. While fans can expect to wait some time before an X-Men movie does come to theaters, this is a big step forward for the future of mutants finding their way among upcoming Marvel movies.
Michael Lesslie has a background in adapting stories from other mediums throughout his career. His first Hollywood screenplay that was made into a movie was 2015’s Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender before the same X-Men actor was the lead in his screenplay for 2016’s Assassin’s Creed. Lesslie’s latest writing credit was for the Hunger Games prequel, which actually beat out the last MCU movie, The Marvels, at the box office over the Thanksgiving holiday. Lesslie is also the writer behind the upcoming Now You See Me threequel and a modern adaptation of Hamlet.
How Is The MCU Is Setting Up The X-Men So Far
The X-Men reboot will mark the first movie based on the long-running comic book series of the same name since 2019’s flop of a closer, Dark Phoenix. However, in recent years the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been slowly setting up the arrival of the mutants through various references here and there.
The first time was when none other than Patrick Stewart’s Professor X appeared briefly in Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness. Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel was also announced to be a mutant during an episode of the TV show before The Marvels had her partner in crime-fighting, Monica Rambeau, meeting Kelsey Grammer’s Beast during the movie’s end-credits scene. Marvel has also recently brought back the X-Men through the new animated series X-Men ‘97, which is now streaming with a Disney+ subscription.
Then there’s Hugh Jackman’s return to Wolverine this summer! The actor will star alongside Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson for Deadpool and Wolverine. We expect the movie, which will come to theaters on July 26, to include even more X-Men winks. While it took five years, we’re hyped the new era of the X-Men is finally starting to get off the ground.
