FROM SPLASH PAGE: Really, it was just a matter of time before studios chose someone like Josh Schwartz, the creator of several wildly popular, teen-skewed TV series like “Gossip Girl,” “The OC” and “Chuck,” to focus some attention on Marvel’s favorite team of mutants. According to Variety, 20th Century Fox has tapped the teen-savvy creator to write “X-Men: First Class,” an upcoming film that focuses on younger versions of Marvel’s X-Men and, the studio hopes, bring audiences back to a franchise that earned more than $1.2 billion worldwide.

The deal also leaves open the possibility of Schwartz directing the film, though he hasn’t opted to do so at this point. Lauren Shuler Donner, who produced all of the previous “X-Men” films, as well as the upcoming “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” will produce “First Class.”

Read more about Josh Schwartz as the “X-Men: First Class” writer at SplashPage.MTV.com.