'X-Men: First Class' Reunion Set for Director Matthew Vaughn, Cast

Murray Close/20th Century Fox

Concurrent with today’s announcement that Emma Watts renewed her contract as 20th Century Fox production president until 2015, it was revealed that Fox has closed deals for Matthew Vaughn and the cast of X-Men: First Class to return for the forthcoming sequel.

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Vaughn joins previously-announced collaborators Bryan Singer (X-Men and X2), who is producing, and Simon Kinberg, who wrote Sherlock Holmes, but perhaps more importantly to fans of the franchise, the critically-reviled X-Men: The Last Stand.

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An X-Men: First Class sequel would offer Vaughn his first successful franchise after stalled efforts to turn Stardust and Kick-Ass into film series. Meanwhile, in October the filmmaker discussed the possibility of taking on The Secret Service or Superior, two other projects which would reunite him with his Kick-Ass collaborator, Mark Millar.

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X-Men: First Class successfully relaunched the marquee franchise, and was one of the best reviewed tentpoles of the year, as well as earning $353.6 million worldwide. The sequel should benefit from the attention Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence have attracted via upcoming projects such as Fassbender’s Prometheus and Lawrence’s starring role in the hotly anticipated adaptation of The Hunger Games.