Singer aching for X-Men

It looks like the possibility of Bryan Singer jumping back to make another X-Men film could become a reality. The Hollywood Reporter caught up with the Valkyrie director during South Korea’s Pusan International Film Festival. This is what he had to say:

“I’m still looking to possibly returning to the ‘X-Men’ franchise. I’ve been talking to Fox about it…I love Hugh Jackman. I love the cast.”

Singer said he enjoyed making science fiction and fantasy movies because they allowed him to discuss serious issues through entertainment. He said the “X-Men” series, which follows a group of mutants with superpowers who struggle to fit in with humans, is about tolerance and social structures.

He said he likes to “trick audiences into thinking they’re seeing fireworks, but they’re learning about themselves and listening to what I have to say.”

“The excitement about working in science fiction and fantasy is — the stories, if they are good, are about the human condition,” Singer said.

The Twentieth Century Fox and Marvel Studios franchise has become a powerhouse ever since the first X-Men film in 2000. Once the film became a hit, it sprouted out almost an entire decade’s worth of a comic book adaptation movement which burst at the seams with Spider-Man, released in 2002. After the first X-Men film’s success a second one (X2) quickly emerged under the strong and continuing vision of Bryan Singer. With negotiation battles ensuing between him and Fox, he jumped ship to direct Superman Returns while the studio help Brett Ratner took over X-Men: The Last Stand. This past summer the spinoff film X-Men Origins: Wolverine came out into theaters with the possibility of there being a sequel on said film.

Currently X-Men Origins: Magneto is still on the development back burner while X-Men: First Class is being penned by Josh Schwartz (Gossip Girl). With the overall negative reception of the third X-Men film, many fans including myself hope that with Bryan Singer’s return so will be the revival of a better taken care of Dark Phoenix saga.