Why Bryan Singer May Not Direct 'X-Men: First Class'

If Bryan Singer returns to make another X-Men movie, it will either require plenty of time or plenty of money. HitFix reports that Singer is still bound to make Jack the Giant Killer for Warner Bros., meaning he'll either have to be extracted from that to grease the rails for X-Men: First Class or First Class will just have to wait. The first almost certainly won't happen because of how deeply Singer is involved in pre-production on Giant Killer. But if he stays attached to that project, he won't have time to make First Class in the next 12 - 18 months, probably. The second part of the plan doesn't fit in with Fox' goal of total X-Men domination. The idea is to start that off-shoot as a franchise, get the second Wolverine movie going, and eventually revisit the original X-Men again. But there's a third option: First Class can just hire a new director, and that appears to be where Fox might be heading at the moment. Reportedly, the word is out to several directors, "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," asserts HitFix. I thought Singer should have taken the next Wolverine flick, which introduces the Japanese storyline so many fans have been waiting for. But that's supposed to shoot next year, too, so Singer probably can't touch it, either. Maybe that fourth X-Men film is an option, but we won't see that until at least 2013. Then there's the problem of what becomes of the Marvel properties with Disney now involved. How long does Fox' contract last before Disney begins making these movies itself? There's also new legal action from the heirs of Marvel writer Jack Kirby that could throw a wrench into all future projects based on works that bear his mark. In any case, it looks as though Bryan Singer won't get to direct more X-Men for quite a while, unless Fox shifts its schedule for First Class.

Comments

[MM]

Brett Ratner for X-Men: First Class?

[Get The Big Picture]

You just shaved about three years off my life.