Mon Oct 12, 2009 — by Robert Greenberger

Singer Wants Back in the Mansion

Director Interested in Return to 'X-Men' Franchise

Director Bryan Singer is interested in returning to the Marvel Universe, telling a South Korean audience he’s made it clear to 20th Century Fox. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Singer told fans at South Korea's Pusan International Film Festival, "I love Hugh Jackman. I love the cast," he said of X-Men: Origins: Wolverine.

After directing the first two features, he left the franchise to try his hand at rebooting Superman for Warner Bros. The critical and financial drubbing Superman Returns received derailed the Man of Steel’s film trajectory and left Singer a wounded director. He noted that "the risk is too great to leave [the final cut] in the hands of a filmmaker," he said, adding that he "has a responsibility to help studios feel secure in their investments."

During an on-stage discussion with director Kim Ji-woon, Singer noted that directors in this Asian country enjoy tremendous creative freedom compared with the studio-mandated filmmaking in America.

The director who gained renown for The Usual Suspects, said he likes to "trick audiences into thinking they're seeing fireworks, but they're learning about themselves and listening to what I have to say. The excitement about working in science fiction and fantasy is — the stories, if they are good, are about the human condition."

Fox has already announced their reboot of the mutant franchise will be X-Men First Class with X-Men Origins: Magneto still in development with writer/director David S. Goyer. Word is that pre-production has already started on Wolverine 2.

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