Summary
- X-Men ’97
and
Deadpool & Wolverine
are smashing records, showing massive audience interest and hype. - Marvel Studios is moving cautiously to develop a live-action X-Men project with the right writer in place.
- Despite progress, the X-Men movie is still in early stages, focusing on quality over rushing the process.
X-Men momentum has been at an all-time high thanks in large part to the success of Disney+’s X-Men ’97, which has been a hit with both audiences and critics alike. In addition to this, Deadpool & Wolverine, which brings Hugh Jackman back from the Fox Marvel fold, has already broken first-day ticket sale records on Fandango in addition to its trailer becoming the most-viewed in its first 24 hours. Given the hype surrounding X-Men at the moment, it comes as no surprise that Marvel Studios is making moves to develop its live-action X-Men project that will bring the mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with landing a screenwriter for the project.
Per Deadline, Marvel Studios has tapped Michael Lesslie to pen the screenplay for the live-action X-Men film. Lesslie is currently in negotiations, but Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige and his team have been taking their time with developing X-Men, making it one of their biggest priorities after the writer’s strike ended, but also making sure they secured the right person for the job. They have met with various candidates since the strike ended, and it was reportedly late last week that they made the decision that Lesslie was their man. He recently reignited the Hunger Games franchise with The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, and he also penned the script for Now You See Me 3.
An X-Men Movie Is Still in the Early Development Stages
X-Men
- Release Date
- July 13, 2000
Despite landing a writer, the X-Men movie is still in the very early development stages. There is no director attached to the project and no release date has been set. The next step will be to choose a helmer for the film so that they may oversee its progress with Lesslie and Feige. Again, Marvel does not want to rush to bring the X-Men into the MCU and wants to get it right, which is pretty much in step with their more recent decisions to prioritize quality over quantity.
Why It’s Finally Time to Revisit the Fox X-Men Universe
Fox Studios and Bryan Singer made something new and cutting-edge. We can’t forget how they crawled so the MCU could run.
Fans have been clamoring for the X-Men to join the MCU since the last live-action release, Dark Phoenix, disappointed back in 2019. The X-Men were once under the 20th Century Fox banner, with the first film releasing in 2000. While the films varied in quality, they mostly hit the mark with fans, and it was a popular IP for the studio. However, after Disney acquired Fox in 2019, the rights shifted to the Mouse House. The last Fox-related projects released through Disney was the aforementioned Dark Phoenix and 2020’s The New Mutants. Since then, it has been a waiting game for fans regarding when the X-Men would make their MCU appearance, and now it appears we are a step closer to seeing that happen.
Striking while the X-Men fire is hot is pretty smart. X-Men ’97 has proven to be a big hit for Disney+ with critics and fans, while Deadpool & Wolverine is shaping up to potentially be the biggest movie of the summer. Interest in the brand is pretty high at the moment and this news should go a long way to expanding interest in the X-Men property.
