Singer, who directed the first two installments before famously jumping ship to make “Superman Returns,” has signed on to develop and direct “X-Men: First Class.”

The studio has tapped Jamie Moss to write the screenplay and work with Singer on the project, which goes back to the drawing board. “Class” was put into development in 2008 as a prequel to the “X-Men” movies, looking at the teenage years of the super-powered mutant heroes seen the “X-Men” movies and the “Wolverine” movie. New characters will also be created.

The story is still in the early stages of development but will deal with the first meeting of Charles Xavier and Magneto and involve the creation of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, the school masquerading as the headquarters of the X-Men.

Singer revealed his involvement during a red carpet interview at the “Avatar” premiere. Fox confirmed the news Thursday.

While the deal seems to clear up any bad blood that may have existed when Singer left the studio for Warner Bros. and “Superman,” it also reflects the studio’s realization of the value Singer brings to the franchise he helped launch. While “X-Men: Last Stand” and “Wolverine” were blockbusters, they were received less than enthusiastically by fans of the Marvel Comics characters.

“First Class” takes its name from a Marvel Comics limited series written by Jeff Parker. Josh Schwartz wrote an earlier draft of the script.

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