Earlier this year,James Francopulled double-duty onThe Deuceby playing twin brothers, but apparently two isn’t enough for the actor.THRreports that Franco is in talks to join theX-Menuniverse by playing Jamie Madrox, aka Multiple Man, in a standalone movie thatSimon Kinbergwill produce. The character previously appeared on screen inX-Men: The Last Standplayed byEric Dane. His superpower is that he can make multiple versions of himself (his alias is not misleading).
While that may not seem like enough for a character to hold up his own movie, especially for such a deep cut character like Multiple Man, consider the direction theX-Menfilms are headed in. Uninterested in building an expanded universe like Marvel Studios, Fox has instead opted to send their superhero movies into different genres.Loganwas a western noir;Deadpoolis a raunchy R-rated comedy; andThe New Mutantswill be a horror movie. So look at a character like Multiple Man and you can see the appeal of something more dramatic that could be a look at fractured identity rather than just generic superhero boilerplate. For Franco, who already did the standard superhero thing with theSpider-Manmovies, I can bet that a unique take on the genre would be appealing, especially if it’s incredibly different from what we’ve come to expect.
Allan Heinberg, one of the credited writers onWonder Woman, will pen the screenplay, and Franco would produce alongside Kinberg.
Franco will next be seen in an awards-worthy turn as Tommy Wiseau inThe Disaster Artist. He’s also signed on to star in theCoen Brothers’ first TV project, the anthology seriesThe Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Kinberg is at work directing his firstX-Menmovie,X-Men: Dark Phoenix, which is set to arrive on July 07, 2025.
