X-Men '97 Creator Calls Marvel's Reboot Director a "Pathetic Choice"

After news broke that Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier will helm Marvel's upcoming X-Men reboot, DeMayo jumped on X/Twitter to slam the decision — calling it a "f**king pathetic choice" and accusing Marvel of rewarding mediocrity.

In his words:

"Only at Marvel Studios with its plantation country club vibes can you direct a decent film that doesn't break even at the box office and land this gig... Oh to fit a certain demographic in Hollywood and just fail upwards."

He didn't stop there. He said he had "zero interest" in what Schreier and Marvel would come up with and dismissed the reboot as "Iger's version of X-Men" — one that, in his view, won't explore the team's core themes in any meaningful way.

Marvel has stayed quiet on the remarks. No surprise there — they fired DeMayo just two weeks before X-Men '97 premiered, citing "egregious" findings from an internal investigation. Since then, he's made a habit of airing grievances publicly, from canceled plotlines to sharp critiques of Marvel's recent creative moves.

As for Schreier, Marvel reportedly sees him as one of their "top in-house talents." His Thunderbolts* movie, released in May, didn't break even financially but still scored solid reviews and helped breathe life into the post-Endgame MCU slump. That seems to have been enough for Marvel to hand him the keys to the X-Men franchise.

The reboot is still in early development and expected to arrive after 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars. No cast has been announced, but rumors are already flying — including the possible involvement of Sabrina Carpenter, because apparently no Marvel team is complete without at least one pop star now.

So far, DeMayo's tirade hasn't derailed anything, but it's clear that whatever Marvel's cooking with their mutant reboot, he wants no part of it — and definitely isn't going quietly.