After X-Men:The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine left bad tastes in our mouths we were given a small ray of hope that there would be a prequel film called X-Men: First Class that would give us insight into the characters’ origins and take us back to the world of the original X-Men.

After word broke out about the development of the film, everyone wondered who would be the director? Would we have to suffer through another music video director, or someone who doesn’t have any interest at all in the X-Men world, or would there be any possibility that the man who gave us the first look at the X-Men could return?

We have our answer: Bryan Singer is back! At the world premiere of Avatar while on the blue carpet, he announced that he was indeed going to come back to the X-Men franchise and direct X-Men: First Class. Singer also said he “thought long and hard about returning to the franchise he launched until he found a storyline that would stand on its own.” He even wrote a treatment for Fox, which is what eventually brought him back.

According to Variety, the story will focus on the two most powerful mutants that we are all familiar with: Xavier and Magneto. Here’s some tidbits on how the story will go from the man himself:

“This is the formative years of Xavier and Magneto, and the formation of the school and where there relationship took a wrong turn,” Singer said. “There is a romantic element, and some of the mutants from X-Men will figure into the plot, though I don’t want to say which ones. There will be a lot of new mutants and a great villain.”

I, for one, am officially excited about this news! I know it’s bold, but I truly believe that Singer is mostly responsible for introducing the world to successful and realistic comic book movie adaptations. We can all agree that X-Men and X2 are the best films of the franchise, so far, and if he can recreate the magic of the first one, then I can’t wait!

What do you think about Singer returning to his roots? Do you think after Valkyrie and Superman Returns that he can bring back the magic?

[Update: Slashfilm is reporting that a new screenwriter has been hired on to help Singer develop the project: Jamie Moss, writer of the 2008 Fox Searchlight film Street Kings. We reported that Josh Schwartz, creator of The OC and Chuck penned an earlier draft of the script, so I guess we'll see if Singer and Moss totally go in a different direction or if Schwartz's version will be used.

Also, when talking with Heat Vision, Singer ended the fans' speculation about whether or not the rumored X-Men Origins:Magneto film would be off the table or not by saying, “[First Class] will probably utilize some of the Magneto story because it deals with a young Magneto,” and that “it might supersede” that plan because this new movie would explore “that relationship between a young energetic professor and a disenfranchised victim of the Holocaust.”]

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