Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: X-Men

  • Director Jake Schreier Shuts Down Wild ‘X-Men’ Casting Rumors

    Director Jake Schreier Shuts Down Wild ‘X-Men’ Casting Rumors

    If you’ve spent the last few months reading “leaked” casting shortlists for Marvel Studios’ upcoming X-Men reboot, director Jake Schreier has a reality check for you. Speaking exclusively at the Gotham Television Awards, the Thunderbolts* and Beef filmmaker officially broke his silence on the tidal wave of internet speculation, confirming that while creative discussions are well underway, the rumors flooding social media are entirely fabricated.

    As the MCU prepares to slowly introduce its own core iteration of mutants post-Secret Wars, Schreier is reminding fans that Marvel’s actual war room is keeping its cards incredibly close to the chest.

    Rumor Mill vs. Reality

    With co-writers Lee Sung Jin (Beef) and Joanna Calo (The Bear) officially in the writing trenches alongside Kevin Feige, fan-casting has reached a fever pitch. Rumors have linked everyone from Emma Mackey to Hunter Schafer to classic mutant roles. However, Schreier explicitly debunked the idea that any of these names have come from official auditions.

    “Right now we’re talking about things, we’re thinking about things,” Schreier clarified regarding the state of the casting process. “I can tell you that most of the stuff that gets posted online… I don’t know where it comes from, because it doesn’t come from our room and it isn’t what we’re discussing. But there is a process.”

    Schreier, who has spent the last year balancing the final touches on Thunderbolts* and mapping out the Mutant Saga, admitted that taking on an IP with this much generational weight brings an immense amount of creative pressure. With the script currently undergoing extensive, character-first writing sessions with Joanna Calo and Lee Sung Jin, casting is unlikely to officially heat up until late 2026, targeting a production start ahead of an anticipated Phase 7 slate.

    Source: Collider

  • Lee Sung Jin Reveals What Media Fuels His ‘X-Men’ Vision

    Lee Sung Jin Reveals What Media Fuels His ‘X-Men’ Vision

    The Mutant Saga just secured a powerhouse creative roster that should have every Marvel fan breathing a sigh of relief. In a major interview with Men’s Health, Lee Sung Jin (the Emmy-winning creator of Beef) officially confirmed he is deep in the “writing trenches” for Marvel Studios’ X-Men reboot, have some insight into the studio’s vision for the project and what X-Men content has shaped his love for the mutant heroes and villains.

    Director Jake Schreier previously worked with both Lee and co-writer Joanna Calo on Thunderbolts* and Beef. This shorthand allows them to tackle the “ideology and interpersonal drama” of the X-Men with a level of grit and realism rarely seen in blockbusters.

    What I’m excited about with Jake’s vision for the X-Men—and [Marvel president Kevin Feige and co-president Lou D’Esposito] are fully aligned with his vision—is that he wants to get back to focusing on the characters first. These are amazing characters with very rich backstories full of so much emotion. There are so many intra-team dynamics and relationships. There’s soapy stuff. And sure, there are political themes baked into the DNA of X-Men too, and those are evergreen, but we want to get back to character-first storytelling.

    -Lee Sung Jin

    Jin’s comments signal a massive tonal shift for the franchise. Rather than focusing on multiversal cameos or cosmic threats, the Beef creator is aiming for the heart of what made the original Chris Claremont comics a cultural phenomenon.

    Lee emphasized that Schreier’s vision is to lean into the “soapy” interpersonal dynamics. “These are amazing characters with very rich backstories full of so much emotion,” Lee told Men’s Health.

    A lifelong fan, Lee revealed he grew up on the 90s animated series and “devoured” X-Men ’97. He’s bringing that deep-rooted love for the “found family” aspect of the team to the script.

    The writing process is reportedly a hands-on, daily collaboration between Lee, Calo, Schreier, Kevin Feige, and Lou D’Esposito. Lee described the sessions as “invigorating,” with the team “in the lab every day” to perfect the draft.

    While the immediate focus is on a single great movie, Schreier and Feige have confirmed they are already mapping out sequels and spin-offs. The goal seems to be  to move away from the villain-of-the-week model and toward a long-term ideological war narrative… something that the X-Men are well-suited to handle.

    Source: Men’s Health

  • Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler Returns in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’…Along with Some Secret Characters

    Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler Returns in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’…Along with Some Secret Characters

    Alan Cumming is back in Avengers: Doomsday as Nightcrawler and he’s been quite forthcoming about his past and present experiences as the mutant teleporter. While fans are ecstatic to see the blue teleporter return, Cumming’s comments have pulled back the curtain on the “trauma” of the early 2000s X-Men era and the massive, secretive scale of the new Avengers epic.

    In his latest chat with Deadline, Cumming revealed that the Doomsday script is a maze of misdirection. To prevent leaks, several returning characters were given “secret names” in the script. “It was so confusing,” Cumming admitted. “Sometimes there were secret names because they didn’t want to reveal a certain character was returning.“

    Cumming described the film’s ensemble as “superhero soup,” noting that there are so many characters he “just can’t keep up” with the roster.

    In a classic “oops” moment, Cumming recently spoiled that his stunt training involved a fight sequence where he’s “hitting Pedro Pascal against the head.” This confirms a direct confrontation between the OG Fox X-Men and the Fantastic Four.

    Despite the massive cast, Cumming revealed he filmed much of his part in “isolation” against green screens, acting in a “featureless void” to accommodate his schedule for The Traitors. However, Leaks and teaser art suggest Nightcrawler will finally sport his classic red-and-black circus-style suit from the comics, a major departure from the tactical leather of the 2003 film.

    Source: Deadline

  • Marvel Studios Rumored to Be Eyeing Odessa A’Zion and Peter Claffey for Pair of Major Phase 7 Roles

    Marvel Studios Rumored to Be Eyeing Odessa A’Zion and Peter Claffey for Pair of Major Phase 7 Roles

    The Mutant Saga casting furnace is officially white-hot. Following the news that the creative team behind The Bear is handling the script, industry insider Jeff “The In” Sneider dropped a bombshell regarding two major names being eyed for the MCU’s X-Men reboot: Odessa A’Zion and Peter Claffey.

    While no casting has been made official, Marvel’s Big Cheese, Kevin Feige, is reportedly looking for next-gen talent to anchor the franchise for the next decade and A’Zion and Claffey certainly fit the bill.

    Known for her work in Hellraiser and Sitting in Bars with Cake, A’Zion has built a career playing characters with a raw,  wilful rebel energy. This aligns perfectly with a younger, more punky take on Rogue that skips the Fox-era vulnerability for the high-attitude powerhouse of the ’80s Claremont run.

    In perhaps the most inspired rumor of the year, the 6’5″ Irish actor and former rugby player is being linked to Hank McCoy. Currently the star of HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Claffey represents a shift toward casting actors who naturally possess the tank proportions required for the role, moving away from purely CG-reliant versions of the character.

    By looking at stars like A’Zion and Claffey, Marvel is signaling that the X-Men are a character study first and a superhero team second. Additionally, with director Jake Schreier having confirmed that the studio is already looking ahead to multiple X-Men films, the two young stars are just the type of talent they need to lead the MCU into the next saga.

  • Marvel Studios’X-Men’ Film to Draw Inspiration from Seminal Uncanny Run

    The Beef team isn’t just bringing the drama to the X-Mansion; they’re bringing a specific, fan-favorite era of the comics with them. As part of his Collider sit-down, director Jake Schreier has finally revealed the North Star for the MCU’s X-Men reboot: The 1980s Chris Claremont Uncanny era.

    Famous for turning the X-Men into a serialized drama where the characters’ interpersonal lives were just as high-stakes as their battles with Sentinels, the Claremont era not only saved the book but also elevated it. Whether through the creation of hundreds of characters–dozens of which have stood the rest of time–or simply enriching the fan favorites who already existed, Claremont cemented Marvel’s mutants and heroes as a brand that resonated with fans then and still does so today.

    In talking to Collider, Schreier explained that he’s been searching the source material for a way to tell a story that feels “new” and sets itself apart from Fox’s “incredible cinematic tradition.” And it seems that, at least in part, Claremont’s seminal run provides that opportunity.

    I also think just having the time to kind of sit back, and I’ve just been digging into so many of the old comics and the entire Claremont run, and just going through stuff and really trying to think about what can we do well that feels new and feels different, and that hasn’t been done well before? Obviously, there’s such an incredible cinematic tradition of these comics, but what can we do? And how can we put our own spin on what that is?

    -Jake Schreier

    Claremont spent 16 years building the X-Men into a global phenomenon by focusing on their humanity. By choosing this as the blueprint, Schreier is signaling that the MCU mutants won’t just be another hero team. They will be a complex, diverse family dealing with societal prejudice and internal heartbreak—the exact kind of storytelling that made the Infinity Saga so resonant.

    Using the Uncanny run as inspiration allows the studio to focus on some heroes who were never really given a fair shot in Fox’s Wolverine and Friends films; it also provides the opportunity to select wildly different villains instead of another round of Magneto. While Mister Sinister and Apocalypse have been rumored to play major roles in the MCU Mutant Saga, other villains such as the Brood,  Mojo, Nimrod, the Phalanx or the Reavers could also be lifted from the pages of Claremont’s work. There’s also plenty of room for Alpha Flight, the Braddock family, the Shi’ar and the Starjammers to be weaved into the narrative tapestry being spun by Schreier and the Beef-ed up writing team.

    While Jonathan Hickman‘s recent run thrilled longtime fans of the comics, Claremont’s run is THE standard and if the creatives behind Marvel Studios X-Men choose wisely, MCU fans could find themselves back on top.

    Source: Collider

  • The Mutant Decade — Jake Schreier Confirms Marvel’s Plan for “Multiple” ‘X-Men’ Films

    The Mutant Decade — Jake Schreier Confirms Marvel’s Plan for “Multiple” ‘X-Men’ Films

    The mutants are coming. Fresh off the news that the creative dream team behind Beef and The Bear is handling the script, director Jake Schreier has officially confirmed what we’ve all suspected: Marvel Studios is planning an entire X-Men Saga, not just a one-off reboot.

    In a wide-ranging interview with Collider, Schreier revealed that the conversations with Kevin Feige aren’t about a single movie, but about building a multi-film architecture for Phase 7 and beyond.

    “I think that, obviously, first things first: We have to make one great movie. But we always have an eye as we’re talking about it too,” Schreier explained. “What are the different places this can go? What are the places that [have] been in the comics? What hasn’t been explored as much, and how can that be incorporated? And what are some of the different avenues that we could take that feel like the kind of less-trodden path that we could go down? But those ideas are always out there, as we have the discussions.”

    Given that Fox flubbed the Dark Phoenix story not once but twice while choosing not to explore other interesting avenues such as the Starjammers, Shi’ar, Brood among others, there are numerous “less-trodden” paths the Mutant Saga could take.

    By announcing the plan for multiple movies before the first one has even finished its script, Marvel is signaling a return to the “long-form storytelling” that fans felt was missing in Phase 4 and 5. They aren’t just making an X-Men movie; they are building a world where mutants are the primary lens through which we see the MCU.

    Source: Collider

  • Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo Reunited to Beef Up MCU’s ‘X-Men’

    Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo Reunited to Beef Up MCU’s ‘X-Men’

    Marvel Studios isn’t just looking for superheroes to lead Phase 7—they’re looking for the best storytellers in the business. In an exclusive update first reported by Collider, Thunderbolts* and X-Men director Jake Schreier has confirmed that he is bringing his heavy-hitting Beef and The Bear collaborators into the X-Mansion.

    Lee Sung Jin (creator of Beef) and Joanna Calo (showrunner of The Bear) are officially working on the latest draft of the X-Men reboot script.

    “We’re still developing. You know, one of the exciting things that’s tying into Beef is that Sonny [Lee Sung Jin] and Joanna [Calo] both worked on this season,” Schreuer explained . “Obviously, I mean, Beef is Sonny’s show, and Joanna worked on the season as well, and we worked together on Season 1 of Beef and on Thunderbolts*. They have come in and are working on a draft right now, which is really exciting to be able to put that group of people together again.”

    Marvel has leaned into prestige TV talent lately, but this move reunites the creative trifecta that turned Beef into an Emmy-sweeping phenomenon. Schreier, confirmed that Lee Sung and Call are currently “in the room,” refining the story originally penned by Michael Lesslie (Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes).

    Schreier and Calo already have MCU chemistry, having worked together on the script for Thunderbolts*. Schreier explained that Lee’s “ability to take small interpersonal dynamics and explode them into a much larger canvas” made him a perfect candidate to work on an ensemble film like X-Men. Additonally, Schreier believes that the melodrama that defined a few decades of X-Men comics plays into the strengths of the new pair of writers.

    When you go back and read X-Men [comics], there’s ideology but also interpersonal drama, almost of a soap opera quality. Having writers who understand both how to drive ideology from personal stakes, if we get that right, that’s what will feel most honest to what X-Men can be.

    –X-Men director Jake Schreier

    For years, the complaint against the Fox X-Men movies was that they focused too much on the spectacle and not enough on the school or the family. By hiring the people responsible for two of the most intense character studies on television, Marvel is signaling that the MCU mutants will be defined by their relationships first, and their powers second.

    Source: Collider

  • Marvel Studios Reportedly Set to Move Forward with Second X-Men Project

    Marvel Studios Reportedly Set to Move Forward with Second X-Men Project

    With additional photography on Avengers: Doomsday and principal photography on Avengers: Secret Wars all the remain on the docket for the Multiverse Saga, Marvel Studios looks to be fully invested in making sure the next saga gets off to a solid start.

    Though nothing has been made official yet, the new saga–which will get underway in 2028–looks be kicking off with Jake Schreier‘s X-Men reboot and Ryan Coogler‘s Black Panther 3 with a sequel to The Fantastic: Four First Steps and a potential team-up film, Midnight Sons, among the projects reported and rumored to be on the way. While MCU fans wait for Marvel Studios to give some insight into what to expect, another project may find itself in contention for a spot in the first phase of the new saga.

    According to industry insider Daniel Richtman, Marvel Studios has decided to move ahead with an X-Force project in the new saga.

    In May 2025, THR reported that Ryan Reynolds was “working on various treatments for an ensemble film featuring three or four X-Men characters.” Shortly afterwards, rumors emerged that Reynolds’ project was indeed an X-Force film that would feature Deadpool, Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine, Josh Brolin‘s Cable and a new actress as Storm. Though Richtman’s new report does not make the claim, it seems possible the two projects are indeed one and the same.

  • New Rumor Has Millie Bobby Brown Headed to the MCU Again in Major X-Men Role

    New Rumor Has Millie Bobby Brown Headed to the MCU Again in Major X-Men Role

    Millie Bobby Brown is no stranger to rumors about her involvement in MCU things. Her visit to the set of Avengers: Infinity War had fans convinced she was joining the franchise. Rumors persisted that Brown was set to play Eternals Peter Pan analogue, Sprite, and while Brown teased that she’d had discussions with Marvel Studios, that role went to Lia McHugh and Brown has spent the last several years filming Stranger Things Season 5, limiting her availability for other major projects.

    The return of the directors Anthony and Joe Russo to the MCU to helm Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars has lead to renewed rumors and speculation that Brown, who the lair directed in the Netflix’s Electric State, would join the MCU now that shes closed the book on Stranger Things. The directing duo have made no bones about their admiration for the young actress, saying they would “put her in anything” they make moving forward.

    Millie is on the list for every project. You just can’t ask for a bigger star right now. And [she is] somebody who is passionate about the work, passionate about promoting the movie, passionate about getting up every day and coming to set, making the crew feel good, she has adopted hundreds of dogs, she brings them to set with her; it is like everybody is having an emotional care day with he dogs. She is just lovely. Yeah we will put her in anything.

    -Russo Brothers

    Though there’s been no word of Brown joining the cast of either film just yet, it’s possible she’s poised to join one or both film, with additional photography planned for Doomsday this spring ahead of principal photography for Secret Wars. However, even as Marvel Studios prepares to end its current saga, work is already underway for the next, which will feature a heavy dose of mutants…and new rumor suggests that Brown may be in line for a key role as a member of the studio’s first team of X-Men.

    According to social media scooper My Time To Shine Hello, Marvel is considering casting Brown as one of the core members of the team, though stops short of naming the role.

    After several years with little to no movement, Marvel Studios X-Men reboot began to gather some momentum in the Fall of 2023 when Kevin Feige began meeting with writers to discuss pitches for the project. By April 2024, Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes writer Michael Leslie had landed the gig and rumors quickly emerged that that the MCU’s first X-Men film would feature two fan-favorite characters as the leads: Kitty Pryde and Gambit.

    In May, Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier signed on to direct what he’s called a “complex” take on the X-Men. With the Russos rumored to be joining the Marvel Studios’ Parliament to help oversee the “Mutant Saga,” could Brown be in the mix for Kitty Pryde, a character Feige has long been rumored to want to have at the center of Marvel’s X-Men stories? She certainly carries a ton of cache with young audiences and, at 21, fits the bill for the studio’s “youth-focused reboot.” Casting on X-Men should get heated up after the New Year–it not even in the next few weeks–so this particular rumor may resolve itself one way or another relatively soon.

  • Marvel Reportedly Set to Place Controversial Character Front and Center in the Mutant Saga

    Marvel Reportedly Set to Place Controversial Character Front and Center in the Mutant Saga

    For over two decades, Hugh Jackman has been the face of live-action X-Men films. After leading Fox’s original X-Men trilogy and a Wolverine trilogy and appearing in cameos across other Fox films, Jackman brought Wolverine into the MCU in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. The ending of Deadpool & Wolverine seemed to make it fairly clear that the heroic duo’s story had another chapter and in late 2024, a report indicated that Marvel hoped to keep Jackman on in the role beyond its rumored plans for him in Avengers: Secret Wars.

    The potential return of Jackman has already raised concerns that Marvel Studios will continue shining the spotlight on Wolverine, relegating other traditional X-Men big timers to the shadows as Fox often did. Among that group, none were done as dirty as Scott Summers. Portrayed in Fox’s films by both James Marsden and Tye Sheridan, Cyclops never rose to the same heights as his comic book counterpart, who was one of Stan Lee’s favorite characters and has undergone a wonderful and transformative journey in the comics. And a new report claims that Marvel Studios has decided that Scott Summers’ story will be at the center of its Mutant Saga.

    According to longtime industry insider Kristian Harloff, Cyclops and the Summers family “will be the focus of the new mutant saga.“

    While the move might initially stir controversy, if planned and executed correctly, a Summers-centric saga would allow for Marvel Studios to introduce numerous characters either underutilized or unused by Fox AND tell some of Marvel Comics greatest X-Men stories.

    Mister Sinister is rumored to be one of two main villains Marvel hopes to unleash in the Mutant Saga, set to kick off in 2028 with director Jake Schreier‘s youth-focused X-Men film, and his fascination with the Summers bloodline would indeed make him the perfect antagonist for a Cyclops-centric arc. Keeping Cyclops at the center also allows for the Starjammers, the Shi’ar and the Imperial Guard and the Mutant Messiah, Hope Summers, to organically enter the MCU. And given the quality of the comic book stories featuring those characters, that could only be a net positive as Marvel moves away from the roller coaster ride that has been the Multiverse Saga.