Ever since Disney and Fox’s merger was made official just over five years ago, Marvel fans have been imagining what it might look like for the X-Men to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now we know which screenwriter will be the person behind making that happen, and it’s an exciting pick. Michael Lesslie, who was recently behind the screenplay for The Hunger Games : The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes , is reportedly in talks to write the next live-action X-Men movie, per Deadline .
The news comes following word that Marvel Studios was setting up meetings to hear pitches back in the fall. Marvel Studios reportedly made the decision that Michael Lesslie would be the writer late last week, and will next be looking at directors to collaborate with the studio’s head, Kevin Feige along with Lesslie. While fans can expect to wait some time before an X-Men movie does come to theaters, the movie is a big step forward for the future of mutants finding their way among upcoming Marvel movies .
Michael Lesslie has a background in adapting stories from other mediums throughout his career. His first Hollywood screenplay that was made into a movie was 2015’s Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender before the same X-Men actor was the lead in his screenplay for 2016’s Assassin’s Creed . Lesslie’s latest writing credit was for the Hunger Games prequel, which actually beat out the last MCU movie, The Marvels , at the box office over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Lesslie is also the writer .