Last week, director Bryan Singer surprised X-Men fans when he sent out this unexpected Tweet to his followers:

While there wasn't much info to go on, many jumped to the conclusion that the X-Men: Days of Future Past director would also be at the helm of this upcoming 20th Century Fox Marvel mutant adventure. Since this short announcement was made, the director has remained silent about X-Men: Apocalypse. Soon after, a spoiler filled look at X-Men: Days of Future Past's end credit sequence revealed that it would tie directly into this sixth X-Men adventure. It also gave away a major plot point (to be spoiled: CLICK HERE

Still, at that point, nothing had been confirmed by the studio, including who was directing, who was writing, and who was starring in the movie. That changes this morning, as Bryan Singer has been confirmed to direct X-Men: Apocalypse. And while no cast members have been announced, it is known that this next movie will focus primarily on the X-Men: First Class characters lead by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as Professor X and Magneto.

While X-Men: First Class was the lowest grossing installment of this franchise so far, Fox is hoping that X-Men: Days of Future Past, with a cast that spans the entire series, including the return of Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page and Halle Berry, will give the new cast the needed momentum to stand on its own.

After Avatar, X-Men: Days of Future Past is the second most expensive film that 20th Century Fox has ever made. X-Men: Apocalypse will mark the first time Bryan Singer has directed back-to-back movies in the franchise since X-Men in 2000 and X2: X-Men United in 2003. It will be his next project, with work starting immediately.