Wolverine’s tiny little shoes are going to need filled properly when it comes round to recasting the most popular heroes in Marvel history. However, reports have indicated that Marvel Studios is beginning to get pretty serious about the long-gestating X-Men reboot, and the next phase is about to begin. However, for those looking for some A-list starts to head to Westchester County, be warned: this will be a budget-conscious version of the X-Men.
Now, we know that Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier will helm the project — and we know that he’s confirmed casting is happening soon — the studio is reportedly seeking lesser-known, younger actors to populate its new take on Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. According to agents who were quoted last year by Variety, this is meant to “keep the cost down” and make sure the focus remains zoned in around the themes of youth, identity, and finding one’s place in the world. And of course, these are all staple themes of the X-Men.
“Jake’s an incredibly smart guy, and he’s an incredibly talented filmmaker,” Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige said during a roundtable attended by Collider’s Steve Weintraub. “We had a great experience with him on Thunderbolts, and if you saw that movie, what he did with those character interactions—he also has his pulse on, shall we say, a younger demographic… because X-Men, as it was in the comics, will be a very youth-oriented, focused and cast movie.”
That direction marks a pivot from earlier Marvel blockbusters like Avengers: Endgame, which leaned heavily on the megastar power of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson. The first three will reprise their roles in this year’s Avengers: Doomsday. Even Fantastic Four: First Steps, Marvel’s most recent ensemble feature, opted for familiar faces like Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby. Both of them are popular stars on streaming but their salaries didn’t come close to Downey Jr.’s Marvel haul (reportedly over $500 million across appearances).
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
The Matrix
Mad Max
Blade Runner
Dune
Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Who Will Star in ‘X-Men’?
We don’t know yet which characters will be featured, but it seems likely there will be some kind of torch passing from the past to the future, since Marvel is already employing some of the original X-Men characters in Avengers: Doomsday, with Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Kelsey Grammer and Alan Cumming all returning for the mega-picture. Channing Tatum, who finally debuted as Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine, is involved too, and he would be one of the favorites to stay involved in the franchise long-term.
