Thunderbolts' Jake Schreier is reportedly the "top choice" to direct Marvel's new X-Men movie

Gambit (Channing Tatum) in Deadpool and Wolverine
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

The wheels are turning on Marvel's upcoming X-Men movie, with Thunderbolts' Jake Schreier reportedly now the "top choice" to helm the mutants' MCU debut.

According to Deadline, Schreier held a meeting with Marvel Studios in the past week and is now the number one pick to direct X-Men. Currently, only a script – penned by The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes co-writer Michael Lesslie – is being worked on, with no casting or release date announcements forthcoming.

If you believe recent reports, the X-Men movie could be the first step for a decade of mutant storytelling, with Kevin Feige allegedly telling colleagues that he has a 10-year plan for the franchise. Feige first made his name as an associate producer on 2000's X-Men.

Before then, the MCU has Fantastic Four and a pair of Avengers movies to account for. The cast of Avengers: Doomsday already includes several legacy X-Men actors, including Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Patrick Stewart, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, and Alan Cumming.

Despite Avengers being on spoiler lockdown, Cumming may have potentially revealed that the X-Men will be battling the Fantastic Four during the events of Doomsday.

He told Buzzfeed UK, "I was learning stunts yesterday for some fight scene and I'm thinking, 'I'm 60 years old. 23 years ago, I played that superhero. I was kind of old for a superhero even then, And now I'm back doing it. That, to me, is hilarious. I'm sort of learning these fights and I'm like, 'What? Who am I fighting with?' And they said, 'You're hitting Pedro Pascal against the head,' or something."

For more on the MCU's future, check out our guides to Marvel Phase 6 and upcoming Marvel movies.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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