After a decade of writing and/or producing X-Men movies, Simon Kinberg is set to make his directorial debut with the next mainstream X-Men installment.
Recent reports revealed that Deadpool 2, The New Mutants, and Gambit aren't the only X-Men Universe movies that 20th Century Fox has in development. Another mainstream X-Men installment is also in the works. After Sophie Turner insisted in a recent interview that the next movie will move into production soon, Steve Weintraub of Collider started digging around. And he got his hands on something interesting.
According to a number of Weintraub’s sources, Kinberg is in talks with the studio to call the shots for X-Men 7 with a script that he’s already penned. As earlier rumors suggested, they’re re-adapting The Dark Phoenix Saga storyline.
Borys Kit from The Hollywood Reporter learned from his sources that the deal between Fox and Kinberg hasn’t been sealed. However, Kinberg is definitely the top contender to direct the movie, and “both sides have been dancing around [the idea] for months”.
While Simon Kinberg has never directed a feature film, he probably knows more about the X-Men franchise than anyone. Since he was hired to co-write the script of X-Men: The Last Stand, he has been more or less involved with almost every project in the franchise. He is as important to this franchise as Kevin Feige is to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
At this moment, Sophie Turner is the only confirmed cast member for X-Men 7. Recently, James McAvoy seemed to tease his return as Professor X in a movie that will shoot this summer. He shared an image via his official Instagram account that featured him and Kinberg in one shot and writer/producer with Sir Patrick Stewart in another, with the following caption:
Dinner last night with the man who’s in a multi-generational three way relationship with two professors. Thanks for dinner @simondavidkinberg and @hutch.parker, I can’t wait for the summer.
But we aren't sure whether McAvoy is referring to the next X-Men movie or The New Mutants. Check out the photo below!
