Earlier this month, MovieCrow had listed upto 8 directors from the Tamil and Telugu film industry who had narrated to Vijay for directing the actor's next i.e. Thalapathy 69 (tentative title). Of these 8 names, H. Vinoth and Karthik Subbaraj have been updated as front-runners in the race to direct Thalapathy 69. 

A new name revealed in the Thalapathy 69 director race is RJ Balaji - a radio jockey turned sports commentator turned actor, writer, director. RJ Balaji has previously co-directed two feature films in which he also starred - Mookuthi Amman (2020), Veetla Vishesham (2022). If on board, Thalapathy 69 is will be RJ Balaji's first full fledged outing as director with a major motion picture movie star. 

Actor #Vijay is yet to finalize the director for his 69th film! Insiders reveal that Vijay is still listening to a lot of stories, and some of the director names he has heard scripts from might surprise fans.#Thalapathy #Thalapathy69 pic.twitter.com/5Ti5bz5gbi

— MovieCrow (@MovieCrow) February 17, 2024

As reported previously, Thalapathy 69 is expected to be a political film in line with Vijay's political entry. The movie will be produced by DVV Entertainment, the Telugu banner that backed the world famous RRR (2022). 

Thalapathy 69 is also Vijay's last movie for a while, before the star's dive into politics with his party - Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections.