‘X-Men’ reboot finally gains steam as Marvel confirms what we always suspected

The X-Men are here, and they aren’t going anywhere. 2024 was a glorious start to the mutant age under Marvel Studios as the franchise’s rebirth within the MCU got off to an unbeatable two-pronged start — first, X-Men ’97 season 1 enjoyed universal acclaim and then Deadpool & Wolverine became Marvel’s biggest blockbuster for years. After that one-two punch strong enough to knock out the Juggernaut, it’s no surprise the studio has a happy update for us.

Marvel has been pretty quiet on the specifics of what’s coming next for the X-Men, but one thing that’s long been reported is that moves have been made on a reboot movie over the past 12 months. Last May, screenwriter Michael Lesslie (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) was hired to pen the script, but there’s hardly been any official acknowledgement of the project since then. Until now.

When asked point-blank what’s coming on the X-Men front in a new interview, Marvel exec Brad Winderbaum at last confirmed that a new X-Men movie is in active development. “Right now, we are still working on X-Men ’97 season 2. It’s coming together amazingly, and the scripts for season 3 are insane,” Winderbaum — Marvel’s head of streaming, television, and animation — promised regarding the successful animated series, before dropping an exciting tease.

“That is certainly scratching the X-Men itch for me on television. And there is an X-Men feature in development right now, so that is the focus of X-Men currently,” he added, burying the lede.

If you believe every rumor we’ve been hearing, Marvel is even nearing the casting stage for the project, with numerous actors circulating your favorite mutant team-members. A few major names have even voiced their interest in bringing their favorite characters back to life. Wicked‘s Cynthia Erivo really wants to defy gravity again as Storm, and Hunter Schafer likes the sounds of taking over from Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. Schafer previously worked with Lesslie on Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it should be pointed out.

Of course, we know all too well that Marvel telling us a project is raring to go and then that project actually getting somewhere are two very different things. See the embarrassment of the Blade reboot and the way the Nova series has once again gone back to the drawing board. Nevertheless, a new X-Men movie really will be something the studio is dying to do following Deadpool 3‘s barnstorming success, and we’ve seen enough by now to know that Marvel is keen to honor both the Fox films and the X-Men’s long history in the comics. Don’t forget, Kevin Feige was a producer on 2000’s X-Men long before he was in charge of Marvel Studios. He knows this IP of old.

It’s still too early for us to learn any concrete details — although this summer’s Comic-Con seems like a place where we might find out more — but, call me crazy, I’d say there’s already reason to be excited. When it comes to being a Marvel fan at this late-in-the-day stage of the mixed Multiverse Saga, remaining cautiously optimistic is our mutant superpower.