Film News: Matthew Vaughn to Direct ‘X-Men: First Class’ Sequel

CHICAGO – Writer/Director Matthew Vaughn has signed on to direct the sequel to “X-Men: First Class,” according to a report about Fox. Vaughn, who directed “First Class” (which did not gross a major profit, but received high critical and fan praise), is said to be onboard to direct a sequel that does not yet have a setting, synopsis, or definite writers.

Bryan Singer, who produced “First Class,” has also signed on to produce the new film. Simon Kinberg was hired on last fall to write the screenplay for the sequel, much to the discomfort of fans who hated his work on “X-Men: The Last Stand.” No word has been given on whether Kinberg’s script will continue to be the work of the sequel, or if Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman, or Vaughn (the screenplay writers for “First Class”) will be rewriting the screenplay.

The news of Vaughn returning could also mean the return of Michael Fassbender as Magneto, James McAvoy as Professor Xavier, and Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. With Fassbender rising this past year with accolades and nominations for several films and Lawrence taking on the leading role in the much anticipated Hunger Games trilogy, it may be hard to find dates that work for all of these young actors. But if they are contractually obligated for an X-Men sequel, the next film could have some major hype behind it.

Some of the ideas for the sequel that have come out include Vaughn mentioning he would like to start the next film with Magneto assassinating JFK and Singer saying he wants the film to take place within the civil rights movement or the Vietnam War Era. Either way, we can be excited to know that Vaughn will be the director behind the new project and, hopefully, we will have a film more like “First Class” and less like “Last Stand” and “Origins.”

[11]	By TIM MARTENS [12] Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com tim@hollywoodchicago.com [11]