Matthew Vaughn & 20th Century Fox In Talks Over 'X-Men: First Class'

Deadline is reporting that talks are back on between Matthew Vaughn and 20th Century Fox on X-Men: First Class.

Fox, having gone far down the road with the Kick-Ass director on X-Men: Last Stand, had put together a killer list of alternative directors for the job. Several were interviewed, but then others were cancelled after Vaughn came back into the picture and the studio is working with his WME reps to close the deal. Fox will put the film into production by late summer or early fall, with Bryan Singer, Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg producing.

Directors who were being considered when Vaughn bowed out were Clash of the Titans director Louis Leterrier, who made a strong impression. The studio also had meetings with Samuel Bayer, Timur Bekmambetov, Daniel Espinosa, David Slade and Carl Erick Rinsch, when Vaughn began negotiating for the job and Fox began canceling meetings.