In an interesting turn of events, Twentieth Century Fox has decided to greenlight their proposed and troubled X-Men prequel, “X-Men: First Class.”

“Kick Ass’s” Matthew Vaughn has been hired to direct with Bryan Singer to produce. Production is expected to begin as early as this summer in order release it on June 3rd of 2011.

According to Singer, Vaughn was hired due to his love of the X-Men universe and “his deft hand with multiple characters and storylines.”

“I feel the combination of this story and his vision will make for an exciting and original X-Men film,” Singer says in a report with Variety.

“X-Men: First Class” will essentially explore the early history and relationships between the original X-Men and introduce us to a young Charles Xavier along with Erik Lensherr (Magneto).

No cast has been announced yet, but with its 2011 release date, you can bet casting will be underway very shortly. We’ll have more on this as it develops.

Source: Variety