Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier has finally spoken out about his upcoming X-Men reboot, and it sounds as though the new take on Marvel’s mutants will be unlike anything we have seen before.
When asked if his take on the X-Men will be "recognizably different from what came before," the director answered, "Yeah, I think that’s fair to say," in an interview with The Playlist. "To be able to explore all of the ideas that are inherent to that rich source material, but also at the scale inherent to the source material, that’s like a very rare and fortunate opportunity," Schreier continued. "That’s very exciting."
This is one of the first times that Schreier has spoken on the project. In fact, up until recently, we didn't know for sure if Schreier was definitely helming the movie. It seems like Marvel’s level of confidentiality is not lost on the director, as he added, "There’s that red sniper dot out there somewhere, you know."
From Schreier’s answer, it sounds as though the black leather-wearing X-Men from Marvel’s Fox days are long gone. Marvel Boss Kevin Feige addressed the visual change at a recent roundtable attended by GamesRadar+. "Look at Galactus... Look at Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine," said Feige, "We want to embrace that which was not embraced 25 years ago, when I was around on those early X-Men movies, which is those comic-accurate looks."
Not only is the studio bringing the brightly clothed X-Men to the big screen, but the characters will be more "complex" too. Schreier said, "The core idea of what ‘X-Men’ is involves complexity. It’s an incredible opportunity with super interesting characters and [much] internal conflict. These characters are wrestling with their identity and place in the world – that’s inherently interesting and complex material."
So, are we getting a brand new band of X-Men? This is where it gets tricky, as a whole host of X-Men, such as Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, were introduced to the MCU in Deadpool & Wolverine, and even more will make their debut in Avengers: Doomsday, such as Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and James Marsden. But their appearance may be fleeting, as according to Variety, Feige has said that the new X-Men are younger.
The Marvel boss let it slip to the press that Schreier is "going to make a youth-focused reboot. That may be reflected in mutant castings, and it’ll definitely be felt in the tone and perspective of the film." Let the new X-Men fan casts commence.
For more, check out our guide on how to watch X-Men movies in order, or keep up with upcoming Marvel movies heading your way.
