Third 'X-Men' Not The Charm For Vaughn

Next Podcast: Please note that Sam and I will record and post Cinecast #16 with reviews of "Cinderella Man" and "Lords of Dogtown" on Monday afternoon (6/6) rather than our usual Sunday. Thanks for your patience!

In Sam's "Layer Cake" intro last weekend, he mentioned that director Matthew Vaughn had been tabbed to direct the next "X-Men" movie. But just months before production was supposed to start, Vaughn has backed out citing "personal reasons."

In his "Wired" section, Jeffrey Wells recalls Vaughn telling him back in April that "he'd just come from a meeting an hour or two earlier at 20th Century Fox to discuss [whether he was going to direct "X-Men 3"], and said he didn't want to do the X-Men sequel if he couldn't give it a particular flavor and inner life of his own." Fox wants you to believe that Vaughn had some family concerns that led to his leaving the project, but Wells' tidbit has to make you think that creative differences contributed significantly to the split. Who would you like to see direct the next X-Men installment? Email your candidates to us at cinecast@cinecastshow.com