Bryan Singer was in the middle of a three-picture deal made with Fox beginning with
X-Men 2 (2003), and keen to make X-Men 3, but he and Fox were unable to come to terms. During this time, Warner offered him the chance to direct
Superman Returns (2006) immediately. Singer informed Fox that he was going to take this opportunity and would still like to return to direct X-Men 3. As the consequence, his deal was terminated and
Matthew Vaughn briefly joined the production before he backed out.
Brett Ratner was the finalist for the director's role for the first X-Men movie, having experience of making a successful film out of a rushed production with
Rush Hour (1998).