Singer 'regrets X-Men departure'

Bryan Singer has revealed that he regrets walking away from the X-Men films.

The director said that "it’s a shame" he decided to hand over the superhero mutant franchise in order to helm Superman Returns, MTV reports.

"I’m eternally intertwined with X-Men now," he told Total Film. "What takes an audience four hours to watch - the first two movies - took six years of my life. So, to not be part of it...it’s a shame."

Singer also admitted that he has a hard time watching Brett Ratner’s version of the cinematic world he helped to create.

"It’s weird for me to watch it, because I’m so close to the universe," he said. "And also Brett [Ratner] is a good friend of mine. But, of course, I would love to return to that universe."

Due to the lacklustre box office response to the reboot and Warner Bros announcement that it plans to start the franchise from scratch, future Superman projects are currently in question.

"I don’t know, I don’t know. There are still issues," the helmer said of his possible involvement. "It’s one of those things where...it's so weird talking about stuff unless I’m about to ramp up and shoot it."

Singer recently directed Valkyrie starring Tom Cruise, and is rumoured to take on vigilante thriller The Prisoners as his next project.