Marvel’s X-Men Director Says the Reboot Is About “Ideology” While Feige Wants Characters Who “Feel Other”
Jake Schreier is directing Marvel’s X-Men reboot. He recently confirmed that Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear co-showrunner Joanna Calo are now writing the current draft after the previous Michael Lesslie script was set aside.
In a Collider interview this month, Schreier laid out his stated approach: “When you go back and read X-Men [comics], there’s ideology but also interpersonal drama, almost of a soap opera quality. Having writers who understand both how to drive ideology from personal stakes, if we get that right, that’s what will feel most honest to what X-Men can be.”
He said the word “ideology” twice in that passage.
Kevin Feige has been equally plain about the framing. “X-Men has been a place to tell stories about young people who feel different and who feel Other and who feel like they don’t belong,” Feige told reporters. “That’s the universal story of mutants, and that is where we’re going.”
Feige also said in a press conference that Schreier is “going to make a youth-focused reboot” and that it “may be reflected in mutant castings,” with the tone and perspective of the film influenced accordingly. He has described the film as “youth-oriented, focused and cast.”
The casting rumors currently circulating include Hunter Schafer, a man pretending to be a woman, for Mystique, the shapeshifting mutant who can appear as anyone. Sadie Sink is rumored for Jean Grey. Odessa A’Zion for Rogue. The pattern of the rumored castings tracks with Feige’s framing: a young cast selected to embody identity-based “otherness.”
Schreier’s creative history reinforces the direction. Beef, which he directs and on which he collaborated with Lee Sung Jin, is an A24 prestige drama centered on race, class, and immigrant identity in Los Angeles. Thunderbolts, his first MCU film, was praised in part for its handling of trauma and mental illness. These are competent choices for a drama about complex characters. They are also not the choices you make if you want to tell straightforward adventure stories about mutants fighting Magneto.
The rest of the rumored roster fills in the picture. Jeff Sneider reports Sadie Sink is playing Jean Grey, with her debut expected in Spider-Man: Brand New Day this summer before she carries the role into the reboot. Odessa A’Zion is being eyed for Rogue. Sydney Sweeney’s name surfaced for Emma Frost. Peter Claffey, currently playing Dunk in HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is in the mix for Beast. Margaret Qualley, who fans wanted for Rogue, told Collider last year she did not want to commit to a franchise. “It seems like a lot of time, and I’m scared,” she said. When the interviewer mentioned the Rogue rumors directly, Qualley said “Oh s---. Okay,” and moved on. Marvel shifted toward A’Zion. None of this is officially confirmed. The script is still being written.
No release date has been set. The film is expected sometime after Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027, likely 2028 or later.
Do you trust this creative team to make an X-Men movie worth watching?
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