Marvel is bringing the X-Men back to the big screen, and Jake Schreier, director of Thunderbolts*, is being lined up to make it.
Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* is largely being seen as a return to form for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s been regaining some positive critical momentum for the series ahead of a crunch period in which it will unleash some of its hugest cinematic properties. Given that decent reviews and decent box office are by no means a given with Marvel anymore, the success of Thunderbolts* comes at a vital time for the company.
As it has frequently done in the past then, speculation is rife that Marvel Studios plans to reward the film’s director, Jake Schreier, by giving him the director’s chair on another team-up movie, but arguably the most famed one in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe: X-Men.
According to Deadline, a meeting has taken place and the deal-making process is in motion. While Marvel was already reportedly vying to keep Schreier in the MCU in some capacity, the outlet reports that the commercial performance of Thunderbolts*, no doubt boosted by good reviews and word of mouth, was the clincher.
Read more: Thunderbolts* review | Marvel tries to reinvent itself
The film has earned $180m at the global box office in its first week of release and can be expected to do healthy business this weekend, buoyed by a spoilery yet audacious marketing stunt involving its title.
We’ve seen Marvel reward filmmakers before with internal promotions: the Russos were handed a pair of Avengers films after submitting two beloved Captain America movies and Matt Shakman was offered the Fantastic Four job off the back off strong notices for his TV series, WandaVision.
Schreier appears to be the beneficiary of a similar tactic, and with a Michael Lesslie script reportedly already in the bag, work on X-Men could begin in earnest rather soon. We’ll bring you more as we hear it.
