Matthew Vaughn will indeed return to direct the sequel to Fox's $353 million blockbuster "X-Men: First Class."

Confirmation comes off-hand in a Deadline report on Fox President of Production Emma Watts renewing her contract even as the studio moves head with a handful of high-profile sequels.

Although the cast was signed to a follow-up to the 2011 film -- indeed, stars James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender have offered up ideas about what direction it might take -- there was some question as to whether Vaughn would return, particularly given the rushed production schedule of the first. That Simon Kinberg, rather than frequent Vaughn collaborator Jane Goldman, signed on to write the sequel's script made the director's involvement seem even less certain.

He and producer Bryan Singer have suggested an X-Men sequel could again be set in the 1960s -- Vaughn has mentioned beginning with the JFK assassination or later in the decade -- or moved into the 1970s or '80s.