Marvel’s ‘X-Men’ Movie Lands ‘Hunger Games’ Writer Michael Lesslie

Marvel Studios‘ X-Men movie is gaining momentum as the project lands a writer.

Michael Lesslie, who is known for his work on the series The Little Drummer Girl and the recent prequel feature The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, is in talks to pen the new film focused on Marvel Comics’ iconic mutant team, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The feature does not currently have a release date or a director attached.

X-Men remains a popular property for Disney following the recent success of well-reviewed Disney+ animated series X-Men ’97. The show is a reboot of the fondly remembered X-Men: The Animated Series, which launched in 1992.

The team made its comics debut in 1963 from creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Its first feature film arrived in 2000 with 20th Century Fox’s X-Men from director Bryan Singer. Two sequels followed, with the team getting rebooted for 2011 prequel film X-Men: First Class from director Matthew Vaughn. The rebooted iteration got three sequels, with the most recent being 2019’s Dark Phoenix.

X-Men are among the characters that were available to make their long-awaited debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to Disney’s acquisition of Fox. Also on that list is fellow Marvel team Fantastic Four, with the studio set to release a new movie July 25, 2025, featuring stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.

Hugh Jackman, who originated his role of X-Men mainstay Wolverine in the 2000 film, returns as the cantankerous character alongside Ryan Reynolds in Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine, hitting theaters July 26. Jackman has also played Wolverine in a trio of stand-alone films that culminated with 2017’s much-loved Logan from director James Mangold.

Deadline was first to report the news of Lesslie’s involvement.