Deadline has confirmed that Fox has closed a deal with Bryan Singer to return to the director's chair for "X-Men: Apocalypse." Singer was already on board as an executive producer for the "Days of Future Past" sequel, and though unconfirmed reports as far back as December 2013 had him returning as director, this is the first official confirmation.

It's not much of a surprise move for the studio -- Singer's "X-Men: Days of Future Past" had the highest worldwide box office gross of the entire "X-Men" film franchise: $746 million. "X-Men: Apocalypse" was announced in December 2013, and is set to introduce the X-Men comics villain of the same name, taking place a full ten years after the events of "X-Men: Days of Future Past". Simon Kinberg wrote a script based on a story by Singer, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris. Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg and Hutch Parker will produce.

The announcement of Singer's return to the "X-Men" franchise as director follows another major piece of X-Men franchise news from the studio: the long-awaited "Deadpool" film will move forward for a projected February 2016 release.

"X-Men: Apocalypse" is scheduled to open May 27, 2016.