'X-Men' TV Series News: Bryan Singer To Direct Pilot; Says Crossover With Films A Possibility

Much like Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Extended Universe, Fox has greenlighted a live-action television project for the "X-Men" franchise. To make sure that quality of the series remains consistent with the film franchise, the studio will be enlisting the help of the "X-Men" movie director Bryan Singer for the pilot.

Based on a report by The Hollywood Reporter, getting Singer on board was an easy decision for Fox as the network immediately announced his involvement with the project a day after it confirmed that the project has been greenlighted.

Burn Notice creator Matt Nix has also been brought on board to serve as showrunner for the first season. Nix also developed the script for the pilot.

Based on the project's synopsis, the show will revolve around a couple who will discover that their children has uncanny mutant abilities. As they are hunted down by the government, they join a group of mutants underground in order to survive.

Singer may be considered the go to person in all things "X-Men" as he directed four of the movies in the "X-Men" film franchise including "X-Men" and "X2" in 2000 and 2003, "X-Men Days of Future Past" in 2014, "X-Men: Apocalypse" in 2016.

For his part, Singer said that the series, will be visually different from "Legion," the first standalone "X-Men" television series to be released by FX this month. It will also have its own identity apart from the film franchise. He, however, did not rule out the possibility that some cast members from the movie could crossover to the "X-Men" TV series, a report by Comic Book said.

"Some crossover is all I can really say....I think there'll just be crossover and standalone. It's just the right thing to do. The X-Men universe is every bit as big as the rest of the whole Marvel universe, so why not?" he said. 

While X-Men is technically a Marvel franchise, 20^th Century Fox has a long-standing licensing deal with Marvel giving them exclusive television and film rights.