Matthew Vaughn to Direct X-Men: First Class?
Fri, April 30, 2010 
Could Matthew Vaughn finally be getting his chance to direct an X-Men movie? Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Vaughn is officially in talks with Fox to direct the prequel film X-Men: First Class.
Vaughn, as fanboys remember all too well, was originally set to direct X-Men: The Last Stand, but left the film due to reported family issues. Or issues with the studio. Or issues with the script and the lack of time he was going to have to finish the film in time for its Memorial Day 2006 release date. Or a combination of all of the issues above. Seriously, pick a rumor.
Ultimately, Fox hired Brett Ratner to direct X3. And the less said about that, the better.
The original plan was for Bryan Singer to return to direct First Class, but he was unavailable due to his commitment to direct WB's Jack the Giant Killer. However, Singer will stay on as a producer for this film, and possibly several other X-Men projects currently in the works.
According EW, Vaughn is not the only person being considered for the First Class job. Fox is apparently keeping their options open (smart, considering Vaughn did walk last time) and have been speaking to several directors. We don't know yet who else they are speaking to, but as HitFix reported last month, these other directors are "good names, guys who either have real experience in the comic book movie medium or who have heavy credibility with fan audiences. Names that would make fanboys happy from the first moment they're announced."
I would say the director of Kick-Ass being considered to direct the next X-Men film definitely sounds promising. So which other 'names that would make fanboys happy' do we hope Fox is talking to?
UPDATE: Deadline is now reporting that Vaughn is most likely passing on the project, claiming negotiations with the studio were "touch and go." They also report that Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted), Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans), David Slade (30 Days of Night), Daniel Espinoza, and Carl Erick Rinsch are among the directors being considered for the film, which they are hoping to start shooting in the late summer or early fall. Expect an official announcement soon.
Reader Comments (10)
he already passed on it
Yeah, it's updated.
I'm a little surprised he would pass it up, and right after the story breaks, he's already turning it down. Kick-Ass was good, but this is an opportunity he should have taken, I mean why not?
Seriously...by time I finished writing it, it was off. That's annoying.
Depends how the negotiations went. It sounds like Fox is trying to take a step in the right direction by talking to directors the fans might actually want, but...they're still Fox.
true, I'm still mad at fox for the commando remake.
All I can say is Predators better be awesome, or Fox is officially dead to me.
I just want X-Men to have a film that was a good as the first two were. And I thought Wolverine was a fun movie, but it just had potential to be sooo much better.
I agree, can't we just pretend X-Men 3 never happened, mulligan anyone?
I picked up the blu ray for Wolverine thinking it would be so much better, but no it wasn't, those cartoony claws still look like shit.
I didn't watch Wolverine when it leaked online, and I saw it on opening night after checking out the bad reviews it got...I was totally expecting it to be really bad, and I was actually surprised I was enjoying it. It was too short, the CG was awful, and it desperately needed more violence, but it was a fun movie. I'll take that over the 2-1/2 hours of noise that Transformers 2 was anytime.
I honestly don't know why people didn't like X-Men 3. It wasn't a step up, but it was every bit as good as X-Men 2, which was a lackluster sequel for an above-average movie. I also liked Wolverine. The bad CGI was inexcusable, but one element doesn't make or break the whole movie, or at least it shouldn't.
I actually don't hate X-Men 3 - at least not with the venom that many fans have with it. I watched all 3 movies in one day recently and X3 isn't nearly as as bad as it's made out to be. I think I just get frustrated with how much potential it had to be so much better, and it just seemed wasted.
I feel the same way about Wolverine - yes, it definitely had it's problems, but I completely enjoyed it anyway. I'll take both of those movies over some of the stuff that poses as blockbuster material these days.