The X-Men are getting closer to joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe with their film. Today, the long-awaited X-Men movie just got a major update. Following the success of the X-Men '97 animated series, Marvel Studios has reportedly found its writer. Deadline reports that The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes scribe Michael Lesslie is in talks to pen the script for the live-action X-Men movie. Lesslie also recently co-wrote Now You See Me 3, and is one of the reported finalists to helm Warner Bros.' upcoming Harry Potter television series.
As with every Marvel Studios movie, Kevin Feige is set to produce the X-Men movie, which is still in early development, but a director, cast, and release date have not been announced at this time. According to a report earlier this month, Lesslie and Rafe Judkins were the top contenders to pen the script for the X-Men reboot. Judkins is known for for various movie and television projects, including being a showrunner for Amazon Prime Video's The Wheel of Time, a supervising producer on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, and as a co-writer of Sony's 2022 Uncharted film. He also co-wrote the upcoming adaptation of The Division.
When will the X-Men join the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
The MCU has been slowly introducing mutants over the past two years, including brief mentions in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and 2022's Ms. Marvel. Recent Marvel movies also featured appearances of X-Men actors from Fox's X-Men films, including Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier) in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Kelsey Grammer's Beast in the post-credits scene of last year's The Marvels.
This year, we can expect more mutants to join the MCU with the release of the Deadpool & Wolverine movie, which will see the return of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as Deadpool and Wolverine. The highly-anticipated film is expected to have surprising cameos, and its story will likely set the stage for upcoming X-Men projects. Beyond that, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige previously revealed that they're having "long and ongoing discussions" about the X-Men and their future in the MCU.
"You know how much I love the X-Men," Feige said in a 2021 interview with ScreenRant. "I already said that's where I started. I can't tell you anything before we actually announced it, but rest assured, the discussions have been long and ongoing internally."
Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming X-Men reboot, and follow our X-Men News Source Facebook page for the latest updates on upcoming X-Men projects.
