Singer to helm X-Men: First Class

While the cream of Hollywood attended the US premiere of Avatar last night (replete with a fittingly blue carpet standing in for the usual red), Bryan Singer let slip that he has signed on to return to the X-Verse with mutant prequel X-Men: First Class .

Speaking to reporters, Singer coolly stated: “I just signed yesterday to do an X-Men: First Class origins picture. Which is kind of cool. I’m very excited.”

Internet speculation has been rife that Singer would be returning to steer the filmic X-Men oeuvre back into clear waters after Brett Ratner took the reins for the less critically acclaimed X-Men: The Last Stand .

The new X-Men: First Class film will be inked by Gossip Girl showrunner Josh Schwartz, who hopes to retain the same tone as its filmic predecessors.

Producer Lauren Schuler Donner has already talked First Class up as a fun-but-dark project, reflective of the original First Class comics on which it is based.

"We want it to be like the recent, darker Potters ,” she said back in October. “It should not be a kiddie movie: we're in the X-Men world so you can't suddenly change the tone.

“The First Class comics are really fun — they're funnier than any other comics I've read.”

Relieved to see Bryan taking the helm? Which mutants do you want to see in the new film? Post comments below...

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.