Following the successful launch of Thunderbolts*, director Jake Schreier might already have his sights set on the next big Marvel Studios project, as sources tell Deadline he is in early talks to direct the studio’s new X-Men movie.
It is unknown where things stand in the dealmaking process, but insiders say that, following a meeting this past week, Schreier looks to be the top choice to take on one of the studio’s most anticipated projects. Michael Lesslie penned the script with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige producing.
The studio has been taking its time in finding the right person to take over directing duties and has made it clear it doesn’t want to rush the process — similar to how it handled pitches from potential writing candidates last year. After months of meetings, momentum started to favor Schreier when early reactions to Thunderbolts* began to trickle out about a return to form for Marvel Studios. The film opened to with impressive $162 million global take as well as some of the best reviews in years for Marvel.
Marvel and Schreier had an incredible experience working together on Thunderbolts*, a film that has since won over critics and fans becoming Marvel’s best reviewed film since Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021. While that recent meeting sealed the deal, Marvel execs were well aware how much Schreier loved the X-Men comics, an early sign that he would ultimately get one of the those meetings to pitch his vision of what a new X-Men movie would look like.
Even before the reactions began to come out about how impressive Thunderbolts* was, studios already were trying to get in business with the director. But sources say in recent days he has begun turning down jobs as all signs were pointing to him landing one of the coveted directing openings in town.
It’s hardly a surprise that Marvel would stay in-house for this film, given how often it has rewarded directors with big assignments following the success of previous jobs. The Russo brothers wound up helming Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame after directing their hit Captain America sequels, and most recently Matt Shakman was given the directing reins on The Fantastic Four: First Steps after helping launch WandaVision, the first Marvel Studios TV series for Disney+.
This latest development is sure to excite fans of the franchise who have been begging for a new movie since Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox and its library in 2019. The X-Men universe was by far the most popular and profitable Marvel IP that Fox controlled, with seven films and a successful Wolverine spinoff franchise that produced three more. After the disappointing release of Dark Phoenix in 2019, however, X-Men has been in need of a makeover.
This news also comes following the massive success of Marvel’s animated series X-Men ’97, which not only was a big ratings hit on Disney+ but also earned some of the best reviews for any Marvel property in years. Following the series’ recent season finale, it is clear the property still is highly valuable to the studio. Marvel also got a taste of X-Men success when Deadpool And Wolverine became the biggest live-action film of 2024, grossing more then a billion dollars at the global box-office.
Schreier is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment.
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