Marvel wants Hunger Games screenwriter to handle pesky X-Men

Celebrating the fifth anniversary of X-Men: Dark Phoenix and Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Deadline reports the Mouse House is finally getting serious about a new X-Men movie. Marvel Studios is reportedly in final talks with Michael Lesslie, writer of 2023’s Hunger Games: The Balad Songbirds & Snakes, to pen an all-new live-action X-Men adventure. To paraphrase an X-Men fan on July 14, 2000, we never thought we’d see the day.

While we hope that Lesslie has lost his penchant for awkward subtitles, his name is all we have about the new movie. Neither stars nor a director are attached. The film simply moves forward. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t begin fancasting the movie. For one thing, it’s about time Kevin Feige gave the Marvel faithful what they’ve long asked for and cast Glenn Danzig as Wolverine.

Next to Fantastic Four, the X-Men are the piece of Marvel mythology that longtime fans want to see most. If anything, they’re the last two significant properties left for the superhero studio to explore. The mere mention of the characters distracts viewers to the point where brief cameos in Dr. Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness were the movie’s most analyzed and discussed elements. (If only Sam Raimi brought Danzig in). Since then, we’ve seen an uptick in mutant mentions on screen. The 2024 release of
X-Men ’97 and the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine trumpet the official arrival of those angsty mutants into the greater MCU. X-Men ’97 has been a critical success for Marvel. Breaking free from the epidemic of superhero fatigue that swept the nation in 2023, the show became the first must-see Marvel entry in some time. Even The A.V. Club calls it “the best X-Men adaptation of all time.”

The news comes on the back of more positive tidings from Disneyland. Most excitingly, Marvel announced today that, from now on, homework is no longer required. In response to “a lot of the pressure post Avengers: Endgame,” during which audiences felt “obligated to watch absolutely everything in order to watch anything,” Marvel’s Head of Stream Brad Winderbaum announced the company is dialing back interconnectivity and rebranding. Per Variety, Marvel is dumping the traditional Marvel Studios title card for Agatha All Along (assuming that’s still the title), freeing audiences from watching a whole universe of stuff.

“Part of the rebranding was a signal to the general audience that we’re creating a lot of options, and you can follow your tastes within this brand,” Winderbaum said. “Some will be more comedic, some will be more dramatic, some will be animated, some will be live-action. Marvel is more than just one thing—it is actually many different genres that just happened to coexist in a single narrative.”

You’re off the hook, true believers. You are no longer required to see Black Widow before Deadpool & Wolverine.