Ratner FOX's New X-Factor

Many people have been wondering who the new director on X-Men 3 will be now that Matthew Vaughn has dropped out of the picture. Well, it didn't take very long for the powers that be to figure it out because, just days after the announcement that Vaughn would be leaving the picture, 20th Century Fox officially chose the new guy. The question remains in my mind, however, have they chosen wisely?

It's almost funny that Ratner was once a candidate to do Superman for Warner Bros. until his 3 picture deal starring the uninterested Josh Hartnett fell apart like a wet grocery bag because he was eventually replaced by Bryan Singer (director of X-Men and X2) on the project. Now, we have Singer's desire to do Superman leaving FOX and their second X-Men sequel in the lurch only to be replaced by...Brett Ratner?

This is almost like when Jeff Goldblum and Renny Harlin switched wives (Laura Dern and Gena Davis, respectively).

You almost have to wonder if FOX was looking for some kind of payback, or if Ratner was just in the right place and the right time...who knows. Either way, it'll be interesting to watch these two make their movies and see how successfully they can play in each other's playgrounds (although, for the record, Ratner never actually made a Superman movie, so that whole finale is a bit on the weak side, I think).

mike