Edgar Wright Declines Opportunity to Direct ‘X-Men’ Movie

Key Insights

• History: Director Edgar Wright had a notable, albeit brief, connection with Marvel Studios.
• Collaboration: Producer Simon Kinberg has sought to work with Wright for over 25 years.
• Projects: Kinberg proposed multiple X-Men projects to Wright, but they were declined.
• Current Work: Wright is currently involved with The Running Man, now in theaters.

Director Edgar Wright has a short, but storied, history with Marvel Studios. The Shaun of the Dead director, whose new film The Running Man just opened, was famously going to make Ant-Man way back in Phase One. Then, of course, there were creative differences, and that movie happened without him, but fans always try to imagine, “What if?” Well, apparently, there’s an even bigger Marvel “What if?” for Edgar Wright than Ant-Man. There’s the X-Men.

Speaking on the red carpet for The Running Man, producer Simon Kinberg revealed that his desire to work with Wright over the years led to many different projects being floated his way, including everyone’s favorite mutants. “I’ve been trying to make a movie with Edgar Wright for over 25 years,” Kinberg said to the official Movies X account. “We met when we were young guys in Hollywood, just starting out together, and I’ve been such a huge fan of his. I’ve sent him things over the years, many, many [things], X-Men movies, all kinds of things, and he always said no.” Until The Running Man. Here’s the full quote.

It all started right here

Producer Simon Kinberg talks getting Edgar Wright involved with THE RUNNING MAN, in theaters TONIGHT pic.twitter.com/vNsL6O1X1L

— @Movies is ready for The Running Man (@Movies) November 13, 2025

Kinberg, who is currently writing a Star Wars trilogy, either wrote or produced every X-Men movie from 2006 to 2020. Basically, the bulk of the Fox years. And he was able to get some stellar directors to help those, from Matthew Vaughn and James Mangold to Tim Miller and David Leitch. But can you imagine Edgar Wright doing X-Men: First Class? Or Deadpool? Or New Mutants? Well, maybe not that last one.

We don’t know which films, specifically, Kinberg offered, but he definitely made it seem like more than one. And we don’t know why Wright turned them down, though his past with Marvel could’ve factored in. But, in a comic book landscape of almosts, an Edgar Wright X-Men movie is pretty damn fascinating.

Of course, Kinberg did eventually get to work with Wright on The Running Man, which you can see in theaters. Read our interview with Wright about it here, where he talks about hearing from Kinberg.

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