With Spider-Man: Brand New Day swinging into theaters next month and Avengers: Doomsday opening in December, Marvel fans are starting to get excited about the next MCU era, which we know will focus on the X-Men and other stories of mutant mayhem. Recently, Beef creator Lee Sung Jin spoke with Deadline about his approach to Marvel’s X-Men, saying it’s a similar animal to working on his hit Netflix series.
On taking a fresh approach to Marvel’s mutants
“Truthfully, it’s the same parameters on this project, which is so exciting,” he said. “I’d say there were actually more parameters on Thunderbolts because it was plugging into an existing arc and existing characters, whereas with X-Men, Kevin [Feige] just wants to take a big swing and start anew, not be beholden to any of the movies that have come before. And Jake Schreier has such a clear vision in terms of wanting to get back to character first, and to what is exciting about those early [Chris] Claremont-run comics, which was all about team dynamics. There were a lot of soapy elements to those comics. We’ve been in the room every day together. Kevin and Louis [D’Esposito] are so dialed in, and they have such incredible instincts that it’s been fun to just blue-sky.”
Lee Sung Jin continues by saying he and his father used to read X-Men comics and watch the animated series on television every Saturday morning. He says it’s “emboldening” to see so many beloved characters on the board, up for grabs. He says his X-Men movie will not be “safe,” and that he’s looking to present an “exciting new take” on an extensive cast of characters.
Let the past remain
When asked if he feels beholden to the past, Lee Sung Jin told Deadline, “It’s, ‘Would younger me want to run to the movie theater to watch this? Are we honoring all the amazing work that the comics set up? Are we playing it safe? Are we pushing things?’ It’s just trying to look at my childhood self, who loved these characters so much, and making sure we’re doing right by him and all the other fans that love X-Men.”
I know I’m not alone when I say fans are waiting with bated breath for any news about Marvel’s X-Men reboot. The casting, storylines, and tone are all a mystery at this stage of the game, and the moment we get any crumb of news, it’s going to be off to the races. Let’s go!
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