No one has had as much success with the X-Men franchise as Bryan Singer. Yes, other directors stepped in to helm the series after Singer departed following X2: X-Men United, but other films in the series were nowhere near as well-received as Singer's projects. So, when Fox wanted to bring the film series back into the limelight, Singer was called upon to fix the franchise.
X-Men: Days of Future Past was a hit when it released this past summer, and it is currently the highest-grossing film in the series to date - thanks in no small part to Singer's influence.
Fox is hoping that Singer will strike gold again, as the studio just announced that the director has been signed on to direct the next film in the long-running series, titled X-Men: Apocalypse.
X-Men: Days of Future Past was Singer's return to the franchise after a decade absence, and the film went on to be the most successful of the series, both critically and commercially. In December 2013, Singer announced that he had begun working on the script for X-Men: Apocalypse, but the directing deal was only confirmed by Fox earlier today.
Pre-production work on Apocalypse is well underway, with Singer collaborating with writer Simon Kinberg and others on the script. Filming is set to begin in April 2015, and shooting will take place in Montreal.
From the brief post-credits scene in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Singer's rendition of Apocalypse will stay in-line with the comics. While the film version may not be as physically imposing, Apocalypse still looks to be as powerful as ever. In the comics, Apocalypse has been one of the X-Men's recurring foes for decades, second only to Magneto.
The future of the X-Men franchise, and Singer's involvement with it, are somewhat unclear once Apocalypse is finished filming. Fox has announced a number of films, including a Deadpool movie, a spin-off film titled X-Force and a sequel to The Wolverine, but Singer isn't currently attached to any of these projects, and whether or not the director returns to the franchise after making X-Men: Apocalypse remains to be seen.
So far, several cast members from Days of Future Past are set to return, including Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, while some of the original cast will not see a return. Currently, X-Men: Apocalypse is set for release on May 27, 2016.
