Bryan Singer Returns to ‘X-Men: First Class’ Spinoff

Bryan Singer, who also helmed the critically and commercially panned “Superman Returns,” is back on one of the most beloved superhero franchises of our times, “X-Men.” At the premiere of James Cameron’s “Avatar,” the famed director let it slip that he would be helming the upcoming “X-Men: First Class” spinoff, MTV’s Splash Page informs.

Though the report is not yet official, in the sense that Fox is still mum on the topic, the fact that it’s coming from Singer should be enough of confirmation for fans who have been waiting impatiently for updates on the development of the “X-Men” franchise, especially since many saw “Origins: Wolverine” somewhat of a flop. In this context, having the director that also made “X-Men 2” back on the chair is a dream come true, because he will certainly deliver the goods on the upcoming spinoff, they say.

“During the Los Angeles premiere of James Cameron’s ‘Avatar,’ Bryan Singer let it slip that he has recently signed on to direct “X-men: First Class.” While being interviewed on the red carpet by a film crew from Myspace, Singer said ‘I’m ramping up to do a movie called ‘Jack the Giant Killer’ at Warner Bros, and I just yesterday signed a deal to do an ‘X-Men: First Class Origins’ picture, which is kind of cool. I’m very excited’,” Splash Page writes.

“MTV News first raised the possibility of Singer’s return to the ‘X-Men’ franchise back in August when his ‘Usual Suspects’ collaborator Christopher McQuarrie signed on to write the sequel to ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine.’ Back in October, Singer confirmed that he was in talks to return to the series, but didn’t state which movie he was interested in. At the time, speculation centered on the ‘Wolverine’ sequel due to the director’s stated desire to work with Hugh Jackman again,” the same e-zine further says.

“X-Men: First Class” would tell the story of the original crew of mutants, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman and Angel. However, the aforementioned publication says, in order to keep continuity with the other “X-Men” films, two of these (namely Angel and Iceman) might not appear at all, being replaced by Storm instead. Further details are not available at this point, so make sure you keep an eye on this space for updates.