Drew Goddard to Direct ‘X-Force’ Spinoff Featuring Deadpool and Cable

Fox’s X-Men universe just got a little more exciting. While David Leitch is filming Deadpool 2 for a 2018 release, and Josh Boone is working on New Mutants, the studio has landed another promising director to tackle their next big spinoff. Drew Goddard has officially signed on to write and direct X-Force, the upcoming ensemble led by Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and Josh Brolin’s Cable.

According to Deadline, Goddard is joining the X-Men family as the writer and director of X-Force. Goddard, who previously directed The Cabin in the Woods and wrote the screenplay for Ridley Scott’s The Martian, is also directing Bad Times at the El Royale for Fox. He’ll begin work on X-Force immediately after wrapping that film, which stars Chris Hemsworth and Jeff Bridges and is scheduled for a fall 2018 release.

X-Force will center on a Black Ops team of “down and dirty mutant warriors.” Fronted by Deadpool and Cable, the team is described as “far more ruthless than their X-Men counterparts.” Josh Brolin is set to make his debut as Cable in Deadpool 2, the first of three films in the actor’s deal with Fox.

Reynolds will co-produce X-Force with franchise vet Simon Kinberg (who’s making his directorial debut on X-Men: Dark Phoenix) and Lauren Schuler Donner. The latest spinoff does not yet have a release date, though the studio has already set a handful of dates for untitled X-Men projects.

New Mutants hits theaters on April 13, 2018, followed by Deadpool 2 on June 1 and X-Men: Dark Phoenix on November 2.