X-Men 3: According to The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Fox and Marvel Studios are moving forward with the third installment of the X-Men franchise, hiring scribe Simon Kinberg to pen the script for X3 for a high-six-against-seven-figure sum.

The deal puts Kinberg back in business with the studio and Marvel. He penned two projects for Fox and Fox partner Regency Enterprises: the actioner Mr. and Mrs. Smith, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and a rewrite of the Jennifer Garner starrer Elektra, also a Marvel property.

He also turned in a rewrite on another big-budget Fox/Marvel project, Fantastic Four, which is in production under the direction of Tim Story. Kinberg said the story line for X3 is still being hammered out. "I'm a religious reader of the ('X-Men') comics, and I loved the first two movies," Kinberg said.

X-Men: The Last Stand was released May 26th, 2006 and stars Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden. The film is directed by Brett Ratner.