Along with a report today that 20th Century Fox president of production Emma Watts had been signed to a new deal through 2015 came news that Matthew Vaughn, the director who helped propel “X-Men: First Class” to nearly $350 million in global grosses last year, would officially be returning at the helm of the planned sequel to the superhero reboot/prequel. Members of the first film’s cast including Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Rose Byrne are likely to return given that most if not all are contracted to reprise their roles in future entries.
Simon Kinberg is writing the sequel, with “X-Men” and “X2” director Bryan Singer again attached as a producer.
The story was first reported via Deadline.
It’ll be interesting to see how the “First Class” sequel ultimately performs at the box-office. While the film ultimately proved to be a profitable venture when accounting for foreign grosses, it was seen as something of an underperformer Stateside, with its $146 million domestic take making it the lowest-grossing of all five entries in the franchise (including “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”).
So, what do you think of this news? Did you enjoy Vaughn’s work in “First Class”, or would you have preferred Fox bring in some fresh blood for the next entry?