You may have seen that tonight's "will he won't he?" debate about Matthew Vaughn potentially directing X-Men: First Class got an extra wrinkle when THR reported that Swedish director Daniel Espinosa was on the shortlist as well. The THR article we cited actually rounds up all the projects that Espinosa is eyeing, and it's a long one. Don't count on X-Men being a done deal.
Espinosa is the director of the Swedish crime thriller Snabba Cash, which you may recall has already been picked up by Hollywood for a remake starring Zac Efron. The movie has earned the director some Hollywood attention as well, and apparently several studios are offering him big projects, with the strongest contender Safe House, a Universal thriller about a newbie CIA agent protecting a criminal at a South American safe house.
Also in the picture is a Leonardo DiCaprio-starring Prisoners, a kind of Death Wish-esque revenge thriller; Making Jack Falcone, a true crime story with Benicio del Toro; an untitled crime thriller at Atlas Entertainment; and then of course X-Men, for which he's apparently just in line along with several other directors. It's a little crazy, though, that they'd offer a project that big to a guy who hasn't even made a film in English. What is this guy doing that makes him such a magnet for offers right now?
Based on the way THR is writing it doesn't seem that Espinosa is all that likely to get the X-Men job, which means it may be a while before he comes under serious fanboy scrutiny. But let this be your first warning-- Espinosa is definitely a name you need to be aware of, and it's quite possible he'll be directing every movie you see in the next few years.
