Tim Miller & Brian Michael Bendis Team Up For ‘X-Men’ Project ‘143’

Twentieth Century Fox has paired director Tim Miller with veteran comic writer Brian Michael Bendis to develop a movie set in the X-Men Universe. The project is being kept secret by Fox, but the title has been revealed to be 143.

Miller earned his stripes for comic book fans when he directed the run away hit Deadpool back in 2016. Bendis is a comic book industry pro, having created the characters of Miles Morales and Riri Williams for Marvel. Bendis recently moved from Marvel to DC, and is poised to start penning the ongoing Superman series later this year. This announcement marks a return to Marvel for Bendis, as he tackles the writing duties for this secret X-Men project.

While little is known about the project at this time, sources say that Uncanny X-Men #143, which was published back in 1981, is the main inspiration and namesake for this project. The issue is a Christmas special which features Kitty Pryde alone in the X-Mansion. In this Christmas horror story, Kitty Pryde is hunted by a demon named N’garai, and must find away to defeat this entity before it kills her. The comic itself plays out like a haunted house story mixed with Alien.

This news could mean that Fox’s other super hero horror movie, New Mutants, is pleasing the higher-ups at the studio.

Kitty Pryde was previously portrayed by Ellen Page in X-Men: The Last Stand, and X-Men: Days of Future Past. It is unknown on whether or no she will be reprising the role, or if the character will be recast.

What are your thoughts on 143? Are you excited to see a movie focusing on Kitty Pryde? Would you like to see a new actress take up the role of Kitty Pryde, or would you rather see Ellen Page come back? Sound off in the comments below!

Source: Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter