Last week there were a lot of rumours about who is going to direct X-Men: First Class, now that Bryan Singer has stepped down. Some were saying Matthew Vaughn was still in the running, but the likes of THR were just as adamant that this was incorrect and the Kick-Ass director had passed on the movie and decided not to make it. This led others to post lists of directors Fox was looking at, such as Louis Leterrier, Jonathan Mostow, Daniel Espinosa, Rupert Sanders, Timur Bekmambetov, David Slade, and Carl Erick Rinsch.
However it seems that was news of Matthew Vaughn’s departure was premature, as while it seems the negotiations with Vaughn have been touch and go and he did briefly leave the table, he’s now back, with Deadline reporting that ‘Things are back on with Matthew Vaughn and 20th Century Fox on X-Men: First Class. A deal is being negotiated right now.’
Although Vaughn could still bail, as he’s very strict on his terms and has left other big movies behind after becoming attached to them (including X-Men: The Last Stand), it looks like the deal should be done and he will be helming .
This will allow Fox to go into production on the movie this summer, for release next year (it was this tight schedule that led SInger to give up directing, due to his Jack the Giant Killer commitments).