Marvel's real-life Rise of X continues as the MCU hires Hunger Games screenwriter to tackle the X-Men

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It's not just a great time to be an X-Men fan; it's almost a scary time to be a fan of anything else. Think about it: X-Men '97 just got done dominating streaming numbers, there's a new Deadpool & Wolverine adventure coming to theaters, and in comics, a relaunch of the entire X-Men line is fast approaching. As if all of that wasn't proof of a new era of upcoming mutant entertainment supremacy, more huge X-News just dropped, with Michael Lesslie has been tapped to write the first X-Men movie for the MCU.

This news comes to us via Deadline, who also make the point that it is one of the first and only pieces of news about the film we have. Besides Lesslie's involvement, we know next to nothing, including who will direct the movie, who will star in the movie, or, as is perhaps the most important to fans, which iteration of the X-Men will appear in the MCU.

What we do know is that Lesslie is no stranger to big-budget franchise work, having written the screenplay for the Assassin's Creed film as well as last year's Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes. Also interesting is Lesslie's involvement in a pair of Shakespeare products (2015's Macbeth and an upcoming Hamlet); perhaps its his familiarity with power parables that got him the gig.

But honestly, even if Lesslie didn't have this experience, I'd still wager that millions of fans will be at opening day of his first Marvel credit. If this year's X-Men output is any indication, The Reign of the Mutants will soon be upon us - all that's left to find out is how we all fit into it.

The MCU's upcoming X-Men film currently has no release date, but we'll let you know as soon as we do.

Join Popverse in our own little X-Mansion as we cover just about everything you need to know about the X-Men. Learn how Marvel's mighty mutants are classified by power, or why the Krakoan Age of comics is coming to an end. And once you're done with those, keep up with the characters' big screen outings via Popverse's X-men movie watch order.