Marvel’s X-Men movie taps Michael Lesslie to write the script

Since the moment it was revealed that Disney was considering acquiring 20th Century Fox, Marvel fans have been imagining the X-Men joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We’re still a number of years away from Marvel’s first X-Men movie, but the project has taken a big step forward. Deadline reports that Michael Lesslie (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) is now in negotiations to serve as the writer of the X-Men movie.

When the WGA strike concluded last year, X-Men was the first project Marvel Studios began tackling, taking pitches for the movie from a variety of writers. In addition to The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Michael Lesslie is also known for Macbeth, Assassin’s Creed, The Little Drummer Girl, and the upcoming Now You See Me 3.

Although we’ve seen several X-Men characters appear in the MCU since the acquisition of 20th Century Fox — notably Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Beast in The Marvels, and Deadpool and Wolverine in the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine — I’m grateful Marvel is taking its time with the X-Men movie. The thought of classic X-Men characters (as well as new additions) sharing the screen with previous MCU characters is hugely exciting, and if it’s done right, these characters could be the cornerstone of the entire MCU moving forward.

With the massive success of X-Men ’97 on Disney+, audiences are clearly hungry for more mutants. The much-acclaimed first season of the animated series concluded last week, and a second season is already in production, with a third in development. “When you combine X-Men ’97‘s synthesized ’90s-inspired score with an ambitious team able to reproduce the look and feel of the original show, you have something special,” wrote our own Steve Seigh in his review. “It’s rare for a project this risky to arrive as polished and on-point as I view it to be. The series is off to a solid start, with much room to grow and give everyone a taste of what they want.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.

What would you like to see from Marvel’s X-Men movie and which mutants should be featured in the new team?