Over the past few weeks, a lot of rumors have been going around about the nextX-Menmovie beyond theNew Mutantsfilm that directorJosh Booneis developing. We’ve covered some of them, includinghow the follow-uptoX-Men: Apocalypse- supposedly titledX-Men: Supernova- might start filming this June and would focus on the Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix storyline, which is a comics arc that fans have been dying to see sinceBryan Singerteased it at the end ofX2. It basically involves Jean Grey succumbing to her powers and transforming into Dark Phoenix, a malevolent force that brings about Grey’s downfall.
Shortly after posting that story,Sophie Turner, who was introduced as the young Jean Grey inX-Men: Apocalypse, was on a red carpet whenshe revealedshe was “about to start shooting the nextX-Menmovie,” but with bothNew Mutantsand thisSupernovafilm rumored to be in development, it was unclear what film she was talking about.
Knowing something was happening, I started to reach out to sources to find out if a sequel toX-Men: Apocalypsewas really in development and who was working on it. While many fans were let down byApocalypse, the film still went on to make almost $550 million at the worldwide box office. Add to that, I’d argue theX-Mencharacters are more popular than ever after the success ofDeadpool, so it would make sense for Fox to keep churning out the movies—especially after introducing a new young ensemble inApocalypse.
Which brings us to where we are today.
After talking to multiple sources, I can report that writer/producerSimon Kinbergis looking to make his directorial debut with the nextX-Menmovie and he’s already written the screenplay. From what I hear, it does focus on the Dark Phoenix storyline and it’s now up to the studio if they’ll use his script and if he’ll get to direct it. At this point, I don’t have any information about casting beyond Sophie Turner.
If for some reason you’re not familiar with Simon Kinberg and his relationship to theX-Menfranchise, he’s essentially theKevin Feigeof theX-Menuniverse at 20th Century Fox. If you look over hisIMDb resume, you’ll see he’s either written, produced, or been heavily involved withX-Men: The Last Stand,X-Men: Days of Future Past,X-Men: Apocalypse,Deadpool,Logan,Legion, andNew Mutants. It’s pretty clear he knows these characters, and more than that, he’s helped keep the franchise moving forward as he’s worked alongside directors likeBryan Singer,Matthew Vaughn, andTim Miller.
While I think fans have the right to be nervous about someone possibly making their directorial debut with anX-Menmovie, I’d point out thatDeadpoolmarked the directorial debut of Tim Miller, and that turned out OK.I’m actually very confident in Kinberg’s ability behind the camera. After all, he’s watched some great filmmakers up close and learned from the best, and he’s been entrenched in thisX-Menuniverse for over a decade now.
But before we start debating Kinberg’s merits as a filmmaker, let me remind everyone what I’m reporting today is where the project currently is as I type these words. Tomorrow Fox could decide they want someone else entirely to helm the nextX-Menmovie or they could decide they only want to makeDeadpoolmovies in the near future. What I’m reporting is what is accurate today, but as we know when it comes to Hollywood, everything can change in a heartbeat.
So the big question is, do you want the nextX-Menmovie to focus on the Dark Phoenix storyline? Do you want to continue on with theseX-Men: Apocalypsecharacters? Sound off in the comments below.
