After almost a decade-long wait, X-Men will be returning to our screens. The news was recently released that reboot of this fan favorite is finally beginning to come together, leading countless fans to wonder: just who get the call to direct the much-anticipated return of Professor Xavier and his famous institute? Well, like all true fans we’ve had our list for a while now, so check out who we think are the 10 directors who should helm an X-Men reboot!
The Duffer Brothers
The creators of Stranger Things are famously huge fans of X-Men, as anybody familiar with both the comics and the hit Netflix series will know. They’ve been sneaking (and not so sneakily putting) X-Men references into the show since its beginning, and they’re almost done with the baby that made their name, so they could be in the running.
Chloe Zhao
At its heart, X-Men is about the damage that society can inflict on those it deems to be “different,” which is a topic that decorated filmmaker Chloe Zhao is more than adept at tackling. Although Eternals wasn’t quite the hit everyone was expecting, with this source material, Zhao could easily show off her directorial chops with greater ease.
Christopher Nolan
Do we really even need to explain this one? Nolan redefined the genre in the best way with his Batman efforts, (pretty much the biggest DCU success still), and his career has only been on the up since then (we can ignore Tenet). Plus, the Oppenheimer and X-Men links are just too obvious.
Taika Waititi
Another director who’s already on the Marvel books, Taika Waititi is known for bringing the humor to a set, and although traditionally X-Men is one of the darker IPs in the MCU roster, him being appointed might just lead the way for a new and interesting take on the story. With that said, the recent release of Gen V means the market for biting, satirical content about people with powers in an institution of learning might be oversaturated.
Hiro Murai and Donald Glover
Although the Glover x Spider-Man memes were once among the most potent on social media, the former Community and 30 Rock star has shown he can do dark and deep. If the multi-talented star combines his brilliance with the talents of the director of multiple episodes of Atlanta Hiro Murai, it could end up being something truly awards-worthy. With that said, Glover is a busy man already.
Lana Wachowski
Lana Wachowski knows how to film action sequences, deftly examine feelings around being an outcast, and delivers brilliant visual storytelling, so there’s no doubt she would be able to create a truly astounding X-Men reboot. With any luck, she could get her sister on board, and it would also be their first project together in years.
Gina Prince-Bythewood
Prince-Bythewood showed she could craft a visual feast with The Woman King. That film also provides entertaining battle scenes, touches on sensitive topics, and is paced brilliantly, all things needed to make a great superhero film (especially X-Men).
Daniel Kwan
The Everything Everywhere All at Once director deservedly won all the awards with his and Daniel Scheinert’s insanely entertaining superhero romp and devastatingly emotional family drama. If anybody can capture the emotional weight of X-Men while also making an entertaining blockbuster, it’s this half of the Daniels (although we’d take both!).
Ryan Coogler
Coogler is a trusted pair of hands in the MCU, and he can handle directing a feature that has to make audiences spellbound and also speak to a bigger message. A brilliant director who could make this little slice of Marvel his own.
Steven Spielberg
The biggest director in the world is yet to try his hand at the superhero genre, but we can dream, right?
