According to the Hollywood Reporter, Twentieth Century Fox and Marvel Studios have tapped screenwriter Simon Kinberg to write the script for X3, the third film in the highly successful X-Men series.  Kinberg wrote the screenplay for the Fox actioner Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and penned successful rewrites on the scripts of two Marvel based-films, Elektra and the Fantastic Four.  Like many of the scriptwriters and directors who have been involved in successful screen adaptation of comic books over the past few years, Kinberg is a comic book fan.  He told the Reporter: 'I'm a religious reader of the X-Men comics, and I loved the first two movies.

While the departure of Bryan Singer, the director of the first two X-Men films, has set back the production of X3 somewhat, the hiring of Kinberg indicates that Fox and Marvel Studios are serious about keeping the project on track for its planned 2006 release (see 'Marvel Movie Report').  Look for an announcement concerning the hiring of a director for the project sometime in the next few months.