The X-Men trilogy was a roaring success thanks to its original conception by Bryan Singer, the writer and director who, after bringing life to the first two movies, waved ta-ta to the franchise in favor of "Superman Returns" in 2006.

Will he be back for "X-Men: First Class," a prequel to the original trilogy that he created? Apparently not, according to HitFix.

The site is reporting that Twentieth Century Fox is actively seeking directors to swoop in and take control of the new movie, basing their decision on the idea that the already overworked Singer will not be available to take control of the project, or any other X-Men property, for the next few years.

Singer, who already signed on to direct the project last December, currently is committed to "Jack the Giant Killer" for Warner Bros. The epic-scaled fairy tale is already in pre-production, meaning there is virtually no way he'll be able to drop out of the project in favor of another shot at X-Men.

So, if he's not available, Fox is pushing forward without him for the "First Class" story. Like its predecessors, the project will feature the Marvel favorites -- Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast and Storm -- plus a handful of others who may not have appeared in the movie franchise yet.

When he originally signed on, Singer said that the movie would be "the formative years of Xavier and Magneto, and the formation of the school and where their relationship took a wrong turn ... [t]here is a romantic element, and some of the mutants from 'X-Men' will figure into the plot, though I don't want to say which ones. There will be a lot of new mutants and a great villain."

But if you are a fan of Singer's mutant-filled works, then there is still a good chance he'll return to the franchise. The director has apparently already had lunch with actor Hugh Jackman, where the duo discussed plans to reprise the role of Wolverine in either a "Wolverine 2" or an "X-Men 4."

Despite the cull that took place in "The Last Stand," Fox is looking to launch a followup that will feature the return of the surviving heroes, and also is currently working on a "Deadpool" movie.