Bryan Singer would love to return to X-Men, interested in Magneto prequel...

[GreenScar]

DIRECTOR Bryan Singer has said he would love to return to the X-Men franchise.

In a new interview, Singer admits wishing he'd stayed on to direct the the third X-Men movie.

He had left the franchise to make Superman Returns, and Brett Ratner stepped in to finish the X-Men trilogy with 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, which had a mixed response from fans and critics.

Singer adds that he might well be interested in the proposed X-Men Origins: Magneto prequel. And he'd get a warm welcome - X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner has said she would love to see Singer back in the mutant movie franchise.

David Goyer had been attached to helm the Magneto film, and I reported just recently that James McTeigue was reportedly in talks, but there's been no official movement on this project at the moment.

Speaking to Total Film, Singer said: "I'm eternally intertwined with X-Men now. What takes an audience four hours to watch - the first two movies - took six years of my life. So, to not be part of it....It's a shame.

Asked whether he wished he had directed X-Men: The Last Stand, he admitted he had that feeling "before I was watching it, during watching it, after watching it."

Singer added:"It's weird for me to watch it, because I'm so close to the universe. And also Brett is a good friend of mine. But, of course, I would love to return to that universe."

And on the question of whether he might be interested in X-Men Origins: Magneto, he said: "Possibly. The only thing that concerns me about Magneto is that if the prequel were to follow the track I used in X-Men, which is Magneto's history in the concentration camp, then I've lived in that world.

"Apt Pupil, X-Men and now Valkyrie...I've lived in that Nazi universe for quite a while. I just might need to take a little break before I do something like that."

On any possible follow-up to Superman Returns, the responses were more vague and hesitant. After the mixed response and financial underperformance of Superman Returns, it's widely believed he is unlikely to direct any further Superman movies.

He said: "I don't know, I don't know. There are still issues...I just...I just don't know. I don't necessarily...I don't know. It's one of those things where...It's so weird talking about stuff unless I'm about to ramp up and shoot it."