The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had a very rough series of ups and downs over the past few years. Phase Five brought along successful sequels in the forms of “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” but everything else has suffered in comparison to the heights of Phase Three. Even “Captain America: Brave New World” is barely scratching its way to profitability.
“Thunderbolts*“ on the other hand looks like it could end up doing pretty well for itself. Its director, Jake Schreier, may be on his way to directing an “X-Men” film for Marvel Studios.
When the MCU was heating up, and Disney had not yet acquired 20th Century Fox’s intellectual properties, the X-Men was one of the most pivotal group of characters they didn’t have access to. Without them, they couldn’t do anything involving mutants, which is why Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were never called such when they debuted in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” The lack of other big names like Professor X, Magneto, and their respective mutant families took a lot of possibilities away from storytelling. When Disney eventually acquired FOX, everyone knew something had to be done with the characters, and it had to be done well. The success of “Thunderbolts*” is reportedly factoring into the decision as to who’s taking on the job.
While nothing’s official yet, reports indicate the critical and commercial success of “Thunderbolts*” is the last piece of the puzzle Disney needed to select the director for its upcoming introduction of the X-Men into a greater universe. The company needed to reverse some of the backsliding that happened thanks to Phases Four and Five not being up to par, and lord knows the X-Men need a drastic change of pace outside of the “Deadpool” franchise. The last actual live-action “X-Men” film was 2019’s “Dark Phoenix.”
Schreier not only has the hot hand right now, but he’s shown he can manage a diverse team of characters.
While it’s much too early to know for sure if Schreier will end up in the director’s chair, it’s also being reported he’s turning down job offers by other studios to stay with Disney. As the old adage goes, “dance with who brung you,” which we’ve seen a lot of in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
We’ll let you know what we hear about this and other news.
