Marvel in Talks with Major Director for X-Men Reboot Amid Release Date News

Thunderbolts* mastermind Jake Schreier is believed have been lined-up by Marvel to direct the highly-anticipated upcoming reboot of The X-Men.

After the commercial struggles of films such as Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants half a decade ago, the X-Men are yet to make a return.

But beloved characters such as Professor X, Cyclops and Iceman could be set to grace cinema again in 2028 with a new movie reportedly in the works.

Marvel is trusting none other than Jake, 43, with taking the franchise forward, according to Variety, as they are said to be working on a deal to lock him in.

While talks are reportedly still at an ‘early’ stage, the director is thought to have already turned down other opportunities in the wake of Marvel’s interest. 

As well as making his Marvel debut with Thunderbolts*, Jake is known for having worked on the adaptation of John Green’s novel Paper Towns, starring Cara Delevingne, and 2021’s Robot and Frank.

Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier, 43, is reportedly in talks with Marvel about spearheading the return of the X-Men

After the commercial struggles of films such as Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants half a decade ago, the X-Men are yet to make a return

MailOnline has contacted Jake’s representatives for comment. 

Rumours had circulated that Black Panther director Ryan Coogler would be directing the superhero epics, but he squashed such speculation in an interview with Metro. 

After being asked about the possibility of him directing the new film, the 39-year-old quipped: ‘No, no, no. Jake (Schreier) is directing that.’

Addressing the future of the franchise, President of Marvel Kevin Feige, 52, said ‘it’s a dream come true’ to see the movies’ return. 

‘I think you will see that continues in in our next few movies withy some X-Men players that you might recognise,’ he revealed. 

‘Right after that, the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X- Men. 

‘Again, it’s one of those dreams come true. We finally have the X-Men back.’ 

Jake reportedly shot to the top of Marvel’s wish-list as director after Thunderbolts* became their best-reviewed movie in years. 

Although the 2025 started slower than expected at the box office with $76million, the company hopes that the excitement surrounding the return of the X-Men could bring commercial success.

The Dark Phoenix (pictured) – which released in 2019 – is believed to have lost more than $133million after marketing and distribution costs

It comes after rumours began circulating that Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, 39, was Marvel’s man, but he squashed such speculation in an interview with Metro

It’s perhaps unsurprising that Marvel have decided to stay in-house for the new X-Men film given how often the company has rewarded directors with big assignments.

After masterminding Captain America sequels, Anthony and Joseph Russo were trusted with taking on Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. 

And more recently, Matt Shakman was handed the directing gig on The Fantastic Four: First Steps after leading forward WandaVision.

The X-Men movies began in the 1990s with an initial trilogy consisting of X-Men (2000), X2 (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand three years in 2006.

The phenomenal success of the originals brought further films, with three spin-offs released in due course. 

Three Wolverine films followed, as well as two Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool movies, which debuted to much commercial success amongst others. 

In 2019, Marvel regained the rights to the X-Men franchise after Disney’s acquisition of Fox, leading to a number of films cancelled as they moved the films in a new direction. 

Marvel later reworked one of the films, which had been in the production stage, with Deadpool & Wolverine released in 2024.