Matthew Vaughn may have moved on from the X-Men franchise, but that doesn’t mean he would turn down the chance to return to oversee the mutants’ arrival in the MCU. The King’s Man helmer last dipped into the world of Marvel 20 years ago with X-Men: First Class, discounting his story writing work on X-Men: Days of Future Past, and while he has not strayed away from comic books by writing, directing and producing the Kingsman franchise, he would gladly return to the Marvel fold on the condition he was able to reboot one of the most prominent X-Men characters that he didn’t get to work with on X-Men: First Class.

“There’s only one that I didn’t get to play with properly and I would have loved to... Hugh Jackman was so good and did such a good job doing it. But to cast the young [Wolverine], the reboot, that would be fun, I think, and it could go into such a different direction where Hugh took it as well. I think Hugh knocked it out of the park but I think out of [all of the X-Men] that’s the character that weirdly, I don’t know why I get drawn to. Yeah, Wolverine,” Vaughn said during a press event earlier this month attended by ComicBook.com.

The director also has ideas about who he would like to see in the role, although at least two of his choices would cause a few issues with continuity. “Well, he’s got older now, but I would say Tom Hardy would have...been awesome,” Vaughn said. “I think Taron [Egerton] could do it in his sleep. Aaron Taylor-Johnson could do it as well. I mean, I think Aaron or Taron would be my first two choices could do it really well.”

Of course, Tom Hardy is currently playing the role of Eddie Brock/Venom in Sony’s Universe of Spider-Man Characters. Additionally, Aaron Taylor-Johnson has previously been part of the MCU as Wanda Maximoff’s brother Pietro, better known as Quicksilver, and will also appear on the Sony side of the Marvel coin as Kraven The Hunter. However, this is the ever expanding Marvel universe and anything is possible, but following in the footsteps of Hugh Jackman, who seemingly became impossible to replace in the original X-Men movies, will be no mean feat for whichever actor takes up the mantle.

Vaughn’s other choice of actor in Taron Egerton is likely instigated by the actor’s work on the Kingsman films, as it is well known that certain actor/director combinations just tend to follow each other, but whether either of the pair will even be in with a shout of appearing in the X-Men’s MCU arrival is something that no one currently knows. However, it would be foolish to believe that all those discussions are not already happening within the darkened rooms where such decisions are made away from the public eye. The King’s Man is currently playing in cinemas, while the X-Men’s MCU debut is expected to form a significant part of Phase 5 in a few years’ time.