Yes, Ratner may not be universally adored, but he's come out with a full-throated endorsement of the newest director in the "X-Men" community: Matthew Vaughn, who officially signed on to direct "X-Men: First Class" earlier this month.

"I think he's brilliant," Ratner said of the "Kick-Ass" director. "I thought his last movie was fantastic. I'm a fan."

Such a fan, it seems, that Ratner would've been keen to see Vaughn hop into the director's chair to helm his own 2006 "X-Men" flick. "I would have loved to see 'The Last Stand' directed by him," Ratner said.

We're not exactly sure what to make of that statement, other than to count it as evidence that Ratner holds Vaughn in high esteem. But looking to the future, Ratner sees "First Class" as the truly perfect "X-Men" project for Vaughn.

"I think this one is probably even more right for him because it's the younger X-Men, the beginning, and he's great, obviously, with kids," Ratner said. "He has an incredible visual style and he's a great filmmaker. I think every 'X-Men' should be directed by a different director, just like 'Alien.' Why does it have to be one filmmaker?

That being said, Ratner has ruled out ever returning to the franchise. "When I say I'm not going to do another 'X-Men,' it's because they're doing all these spin-offs," he explained. "It doesn't make sense for me to do 'Wolverine' if I did 'X-Men.' It's just a different scope. For me, it would just be going backwards."

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