Marvel Studios is finally looking for the right voices to bring the mutants into the MCU, and they’ve landed on two of the most acclaimed writers in television. Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear writer and co-showrunner Joanna Calo have been tapped to take over the script for the upcoming X-Men reboot, signaling a major shift toward the character-driven drama that has defined their recent hit projects.
Marvel looks to prestige TV talent to shape the future of the X-Men
Speaking about the development process, X-Men director Jake Schreier, who also helmed episodes for Beef, confirmed the duo is currently working on a fresh draft. They are taking over for Michael Lesslie, who previously worked on the script.
“We’re still developing. You know, one of the exciting things that’s tying into Beef is that Sonny [Lee Sung Jin] and Joanna [Calo] both worked on this season,” Schreier explained.
He noted that their shared history, including their work on the upcoming Thunderbolts film, makes them the perfect team to balance the franchise’s scale. “They have come in and are working on a draft right now, which is really exciting to be able to put that group of people together again.“
For Schreier, the challenge is finding the balance between the spectacle of a blockbuster and the raw, messy human emotion that makes the comics work.
He pointed out that the X-Men source material has always been defined by its soap-opera-level interpersonal drama as much as its grand ideological battles.
“When you go back and read X-Men [comics], there’s ideology but also interpersonal drama, almost of a soap opera quality,” Schreier said. “Having writers who understand both how to drive ideology from personal stakes—if we get that right, that’s what will feel most honest to what X-Men can be.”
While Marvel is keeping specific plot details locked down, the hiring of writers known for intense, character-first storytelling suggests that the new MCU mutants will focus heavily on their internal dynamics and relationships.
The studio is reportedly aiming for a younger cast to build a long-term franchise rather than a one-off event.
While there is no official cast list yet, the expectation is that the film will arrive in theaters in 2028, with the current creative team hoping to lean into the less-trodden paths of the vast mutant history.
