5 Directors Who Could Save The X-Men Franchise From Mediocrity

This one's a long shot – a LONG, long shot – but think of it this way: Over the years, Abrams has become known for breathing life into dormant film franchises. He got people excited about Star Trek again in 2009, rekindled interest in Mission: Impossible in 2007, and helped save Star Wars from George Lucas' obsession with sessions of intergalactic congress.

If Fox is looking to reboot X-Men (again), it's safe to assume Abrams would do a pretty decent job. Also, he's a self-confessed fully paid up member of the geek community, and his sci-fi credentials should translate nicely to the X-franchise, particularly if Simon Kinberg does want to go to outer space.

One caveat for bringing Abrams aboard would be his frequent undermining of plot and substance, which the entire X-Men mythology is chock-full of. In other words, the movie will look great, but it won't offer much for you to think about.

Luckily, a solid screenplay ought to fix that issue.