Even though Bryan Singer was developing X-Men: Apocalypse, there was still a sliver of a doubt that he would direct the film. After all, what if X-Men: Days Of Future Past didn't catch on? Would the movie even happen? And would Fox distance themselves from Singer in the aftermath of heinous allegations that shone an unpleasant light on their films? Well, speculation over: Bryan Singer's pretty much the guy.
During one of Simon Kinberg's many post-Days Of Future Past interviews, he confirms that Singer will be returning to helm X-Men: Apocalypse. "That is the plan," he tells The Daily Beast, confirming that he is working to crack the story with Singer, and X2: X-Men United writers Dan Harris and Mike Dougherty. X-Men: Apocalypse remains scheduled for May 27th, 2016, so Singer and company have only a few months to get cracking before they have to set a start date. Then again, X-Men: The Last Stand remains the biggest X-film of all-time, and that was totally rushed into production, so maybe there's a method to that madness. If you ever see Bryan Singer palling around with Brett Ratner, we'll know if this is the case.
X-Men: Apocalypse is said to feature a lot of the First Class crew, though it may also feature some older characters as well. Could that be gunshy execs who still won't trust the First Class actors given that, teaming with the original X-crew, they couldn't even goose X-Men: Days Of Future Past to a $100 million domestic opening, something The Last Stand achieved eight years ago without 3D prices? Michael Fassbender can get Oscar nominations and James McAvoy can earn plaudits on stage and screen, but neither of them carry the appeal of ol' Patrick Stewart, wheeling in to dispense some hearty advice.
Early on it was confirmed that the next entry would focus on McAvoy's Xavier, Fassbender's Magneto, Mystique and Beast. Then Singer and company made intimations about Gambit and Nightcrawler. Then it was suggested that Wolverine would show up (though beyond commercial reasons, it seems unclear as to why). And now we're getting another dose of original-flavor X-Men? Seems kind of crowded. A peek at Days Of Future Past suggests Singer still has an affinity for these characters and this world. The hope is that Fox gives him the budget to realize this.
Due to an expanding global marketplace and the addition of 3D, X-Men: Days Of Future Past is set to collect somewhere in the neighborhood of $650-$700 million if it continues at its current pace. That's pretty great, but this movie cost $200 million (down from earlier, more extravagant projections) and X-Men: Apocalypse has been promised as a bigger, more epic film. Singer was infamously cheesed when he only got $75 million to put together the first X-Men and $110 million for X2. The hope is that Fox will lighten the purse strings once again.
