Studio signs deal with cast and director . . .

20th Century Fox has signed deals with director Matthew Vaughn and the cast of X-Men: First Class for a sequel to the hit 2011 superhero flick. (Global box office: $353 million.)

James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence are expected to return, as are producers Bryan Singer and Simon Kinberg.

Kinberg will also write the screenplay. (His credits include Sherlock Holmes, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, X-Men: The Last Stand and Jumper.)

No word yet on what the title will be though. X-Men: First Class 2 sounds lame and X-Men: Second Class will just make critics’ jobs so much easier . . .

Incidentally, director Vaughn’s involvement in this project will make the likelihood of a Kick Ass 2 movie even more unlikely for the immediate future.