Man of Steel 2 just got a whole lot more interesting. If Warner Bros. wasn't serious about making the DC Extended Universe work before, they most certainly appear to be now. Not only are they shifting around and adding projects to their lineup, they are going after some serious top-notch talent to make that happen. Case in point, it looks like the studio wants Matthew Vaughn to direct Man of Steel 2.

Collider is reporting that Matthew Vaughn is Warner Bros.' top choice to direct Man of Steel 2 and that preliminary discussions are already taking place. The report notes that they aren't "yet in the deal-making stage," but talks are on-going. What is most interesting about this report is that sources say even if Matthew Vaughn doesn't wind up directing Man of Steel 2 the studio still wants him to do another superhero movie in the DCEU at some point. So they seem to be committed to the idea of getting Matthew Vaughn more than they are to the idea of just getting someone with some name recognition to tackle the next Superman solo movie.

Originally, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was supposed to be a Man of Steel sequel, at least to some degree. But when the big idea hit the table that movie really became an entirely different animal and Henry Cavill sort of wound up playing second fiddle to Ben Affleck. That left a bad taste in the mouths of many Superman fans out there, so there was quite a bit of excitement when news broke last August that Warner Bros. was finally in active development on Man of Steel 2. Since then we haven't really heard much officialy from the studio, but some director's names have come up such as J.J. Abrams and George Miller. This is different, though. It seems like Warner Bros. is actively pursuing Matthew Vaughn and wants to bring in a filmmaker who has proven he can make a very fun superhero movie.

Matthew Vaughn has directed a few comic book movies in the past. He did the R-rated and very violent Kick-Ass. He also reinvigorated the X-Men franchise with X-Men: First Class after the disaster that was X-Men: The Last Stand. The tone of X-Men: First Class is probably what lends the most credibility to the idea that Vaughan would be the perfect guy to breathe some life back into Superman. He is currently in post-production on Kingsman: The Golden Circle but beyond that, his schedule looks open enough for him to tackle Man of Steel 2 if Warner Bros. can talk him into it.

Warner Bros. also recently hired Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves to tackle The Batman and they also reportedly gave him quite a bit of creative control. Couple that with guys like James Wan and the studio is really putting together some insanely promising talent for the next phase of DCEU movies. Man of Steel 2 doesn't yet have a release date but it is reportedly a priority for Warner Bros. moving forward. Should they get Matthew Vaughn to sign on the dotted line, things will probably start moving forward pretty quickly. We'll be sure to keep you up to date as more information becomes available.