u/Fall_False

Question : You and Jake [Schreier] also worked on Thunderbolts* together, and you’re working on the new X-Men movie. Do you have a personal connection with X-Men comics ?

Lee Sung Jin : I wasn't planning on doing another Marvel thing because I do have a lot I want to explore in my personal projects. But Jake is one of my best friends, and when he comes calling with X-Men…come on, you drop everything for that. I grew up waking up every Saturday morning and turning on the cartoon. I watched every single episode. When they came back with X-Men '97, I devoured that. The original Claremont run of the comics is near and dear to my heart.

What I'm excited about with Jake's vision for the X-Men—and [Marvel president Kevin Feige and co-president Louis D’Esposito] are fully aligned with his vision is that he wants to get back to focusing on the characters first. These are amazing characters with very rich backstories full of so much emotion. There are so many intra-team dynamics and relationships. There's soapy stuff. And sure, there are political themes baked into the DNA of X-Men too, and those are evergreen, but we want to get back to character-first storytelling. We've been in the lab every day. I've been going into Marvel every day. We're doing long writing sessions. Kevin and Lou are in there with us. It's me, [co-writer Joanna Calo, who is the showrunner of The Bear], Jake, Kevin, and Lou. We're in the trenches together and it's invigorating. We all love these characters. I'm excited, and I think true fans will be excited too. I don't take it for granted. This is the privilege of a lifetime. It's the coolest IP out there, in my opinion.