‘X-Men’ Director On Future Of Franchise & Kevin Feige’s Plans

What's Kevin Feige up to?

X-Men Dark Phoenix Fox Marvel Studios Simon Kinberg 2019

Veteran X-Men director and producer Simon Kinberg isn’t aware of the plans Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has with the franchise.

The X-Men franchise is in limbo. Ever since Fox was acquired by Disney in 2019, the cinematic rights to the beloved mutants have been reverted back to Marvel. Now that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has access to all of the X-Men characters, it’s only a matter of time before they grace the silver screen once again.

While Marvel Studios is currently juggling a dozen different ideas and properties, all eyes seem to be on what’s next for the X-Men franchise, which last made a splash on the big screen in 2019 with Dark Phoenix. Directed by Simon Kinberg, who has been working with the franchise as both a writer and producer since X-Men: Last Stand, the film was met with poor reception. Despite middling reception, Kinberg’s efforts towards the franchise cannot be understated.

In a chat with IGN to discuss his upcoming film The 355, Simon Kinberg opened up about how he’s in the dark regarding Kevin Feige’s plans for the X-Men franchise.

“The honest answer is, I have no idea. And the other answer is, Kevin [Feige] knows what he is doing with the MCU. I would argue he’s the greatest producer in the history of cinema. Truly. I mean, if you look at it pound for pound in terms of quality and in terms of obviously commercial success, there’s no question the latter is true. So I don’t know.”

One question on everyone’s mind is if Kevin Feige will enlist Hugh Jackman to reprise his role as Wolverine in a future film. Kinberg spoke on the character and how can’t envision anyone else playing the role.

“I love those actors. I love them as human beings, and I love them as the characters. So obviously, there’s a part of me that would be incredibly nostalgic and would be excited to see them. And certainly, I can’t imagine another person playing Wolverine, but I also couldn’t imagine another person playing James Bond. And I think that there’s an aspect of some of these characters where it’s like, there are a lot of great Hamlets over time. And I think even Hugh felt that with the end of Logan.”

Here is the synopsis for the final Fox X-Men film, Dark Phoenix:

“This is the story of one of the X-Men’s most beloved characters, Jean Grey, as she evolves into the iconic DARK PHOENIX. During a life-threatening rescue mission in space, Jean is hit by a cosmic force that transforms her into one of the most powerful mutants of all. Wrestling with this increasingly unstable power as well as her own personal demons, Jean spirals out of control, tearing the X-Men family apart and threatening to destroy the very fabric of our planet. The film is the most intense and emotional X-Men movie ever made. It is the culmination of 20 years of X-Men movies, as the family of mutants that we’ve come to know and love must face their most devastating enemy yet — one of their own.”

Written and directed by Simon Kinberg, Dark Phoenix stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters, and Jessica Chastain.

Dark Phoenix is now available on Digital HD, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the X-Men in the MCU!

Source: IGN