Singer set to direct X-Men sequel after Vaughn drops out?

Matthew Vaughn won't be directing the 'X-Men' sequel 'X-Men: Days of Future Past', according to reports.

The director, who helmed 'X-Men: First Class', has departed the production which is expected to star the cast of the first film, including Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy.

[Related story: Patrick Stewart hints at return to X-Men]

But according to Deadline, the 'Kick Ass' director will remain a producer of the film, as well as having co-written it.

It's thought that Bryan Singer, who is also a producer of the film, may now step in to direct.

Singer has chops with the 'X-Men' series, having both co-written and directed the original 'X-Men' in 2000 and the sequel 'X2' in 2003.

Singer talked about the film in some rather broad strokes over the summer.

“I think there’s a strong desire to broaden out the universe,” he said. “The X-Men universe on its own is every bit as big as the Marvel universe and I think it’s time to reach out and explore it and perhaps even bring some connectivity between the films, as Marvel’s done so well. You may see some of that, I don’t know.”

'Days of Future Past' was a storyline originally published in 1981, in which mutants are incarcerated in internment camps in an alternate future.