What ever happened to simple numeric suffixes to titles like Jaws 2 or Friday the 13th Part 4: The Dream Master? In the past decade, films have gotten more ridiculous with titles of sequels like Step Up 2 The Streets or Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Now, Darren Aronofsky’s sequel to 2009′s X-Men Origins: Wolverine is taking another route by going by the name The Wolverine.

In an interview with HitFix, Aronofsky explained that his film isn’t a traditional sequel.

The film that he’s directing is officially called “The Wolverine,” and there won’t be a number attached to it.  In our interview, he referred to the movie as a “one-off,” and he emphasized that the film isn’t a sequel in any conventional sense.

In 2009, Origins was said to be the beginning of a film series based around the backstories of specific characters. For a while, Fox was toying with the idea of doing an X-Men Origins: Magneto with Ian McKellan attached. That idea was more than likely put on the shelf due to a certain Hobbit.

We already know that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is heading to Japan in the upcoming film, in which we expect to see run ins with the Yakuza-like gang The Hand and possibly even the classic villain Silver Samurai.

The Wolverine begins shooting in March for a possible release in the summer of 2012.

There’s been a bit of a Hollywood delay on this news, as nobody has been able to confirm whether or not director Darren Aronofsky will direct the sequel to last year’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It’s been up in the air for quite some time but it looks like the film’s star, Hugh Jackman, put the rumors to rest and confirmed it for us.

In a recent impromptu interview at Elton John’s Enduring Vision gala on Monday night, Jackman announced that he’s getting physically ready to start shooting next year, alongside director Aronofsky. From NY Mag.

“Expect to see four chicken breasts and a whole pile of steamed broccoli on my plate,” he told us. “I’m starting; I’m having my six meals a day.” With Darren Aronofsky directing, he says that Wolverine 2 will not be a “usual” X-Men movie: “This is, hopefully for me, going to be out of the box. It’s going to be the best one, I hope,” he said, and then paused. “Well, I would say that, but I really do feel that, and I feel this is going to be very different.”

Also, Jackman doesn’t think that Aronofsky’s penchant for dark drama is at odds with the big-budget action franchise. “This is Wolverine. This is not Popeye. He’s kind of dark,” Jackman said. “But, you know, this is a change of pace. Chris McQuarrie, who wrote The Usual Suspects, has written the script, so that’ll give you a good clue. [Aronofsky’s] going to make it fantastic. There’s going to be some meat on the bones. There will be something to think about as you leave the theater, for sure.”

So there you have it. The star could be way off, but chances are, being the face behind this multi-million dollar franchise, he knows his stuff. Expect to get official word in the next few days, and expect to see more about casting as the film readies principal photography early next year.

Welcome to this week’s On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage this week. Let is know if we missed something interesting. Otherwise, on to the links!

• South Park tears The Jersey Shore a new one . . .and we laugh like idiots.

• It was speculated for a while, but now it’s confirmed that Rhys Ifans will be playing The Lizard in Sony’s Spider-Man reboot.

• In a stroke of brilliance, Sesame Street spoofed the popular Old Spice commercials. What will they think of next?

• Confused by this season of Mad Men? Well here is the entire season broken down into 10 animated GIFs.

• Nathan Fillion has streamlined a Twitter campaign to play the lead in the upcoming Uncharted film adaptation. He’s got our vote.

• Michael J. Fox donned his life jacket and Nike’s in a spot for Spike’s Scream Awards and their tribute to Back to the Future. We’re still trying to figure out if this is awesome or a little sad…

• Darren Aronofsky is inching closer and closer to directing the sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Don’t toy with our emotions, Darren!

• OK, so it may not be a list, but here’s a pretty awesome collection of some of the best last words ever uttered in film.

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Darren Aronofsky has made a career of choosing interesting, non-traditional material and illuminating the unexpected aspects of his subject matter. Case(s) in point: The Wrestler (a down-trodden wrestler), Pi (mathematicians), Requiem For a Dream (middle-aged drug addiction), and now Black Swan (competitive ballet.)

His knack for taking something completely mundane and elevating it to something tense and dreadful is astonishing.  Who would have ever thought that a movie about mathematicians could be exciting, much less sinister?  It is no surprise that the man who brought us Pi delivers a dark,  provocative, psychological drama, set in the cutthroat (who knew it?) world of competitive ballet.

Natalie Portman stars as Nina, a beautiful ballerina who dances for a New York City ballet company.  Though technically gifted, she has never gotten her big break because the company’s arrogant art director thinks she is too bland to carry a performance.

The film opens with us being privy to some of the cattiness that takes place behind the scenes at the ballet.  The troupe’s principal ballerina, Beth (Winona Ryder),  is being forced into retirement at the ripe old age of 37. Nina finds it sad, and defends the dancer, while the other girls titter on about her age and diminished athletic ability.  It’s immediately established that the women are highly competitive.  There is no sense of camaraderie, everyone is out for themselves.

The perennial classic Swan Lake is set to be the season opener, and Beth’s departure leaves the principal role wide open. Director Thomas (Vince Cassel) pits the girls against one another as they audition for the coveted role of The Swan Queen.

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Reports have been trickling in from the Telluride Film Festival about Darren Aronofsky’s psychological drama Black Swan, and word on the street is that the film is good, very good. Star Natalie Portman is receiving early Oscar buzz for her portrayal of a Ballerina with a very unhealthy obsession.

This is one of the most highly anticipated movies of the late fall film season.  If the movie is as good as early buzz indicates, Portman will certainly be a hot commodity.

Now, Deadline is reporting that Portman has been offered the lead role in the 3D adventure Gravity, after Angelina Jolie reportedly declined the role.

Gravity began its development journey at Universal, but is now being backed by Warner Brothers, who have extended the offer to Portman. When Jolie declined the role, many feared the project was dead.  With a budget of around $80M, Warner Brothers needed to find someone who could carry the movie.  Portman may be the perfect choice.

Her most well-known roles to date are in the movies V for Vendetta,  Star Wars Episodes II and III, Beautiful Girls, Cold Mountain, and The Professional, which was her stunning acting debut.  She has also amassed several indie films on her resume, including Closer and Garden State.

Gravity will be directed by Alfonso Cuarón, notable for Children of Men, Y tu mamá también, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Robert Downey Jr. will co-star, though the female role will be of primary importance in the movie, as it tells the story of a lone survivor of a space mission and her fight to get back to earth and her daughter.

Black Swan is scheduled for a US release on December 1st.

This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt take on a slew of new and recurring topics. Some of these include the recent Emmy Awards, Fantastic Four casting rumors, X-Men: First Class, Jimmy Fallon’s career and the Clash of the Titans Sequel.

They also discuss potential directors for X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2, True Blood, Mad Men, the Community Emmy commercials, the awesomeness of AMC network’s TV shows, the greatness of Joss Whedon’s Firefly and casting for The Expendables 2.

Plus, the guys made some picks this week including Matt’s pick of the innovative sci-fi show Lexx and Chris’ pick of the classic series Firefly starring Nathan Fillion and Summer Glau.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.

You know you’ve hit a milestone as a fan when you hear serious directors are fighting over the chance to direct a sequel of a spin-off. No longer will mainstream media scoff at the idea of super hero films. With Martin Campbell helming DC’s Green Lantern and Nolan’s Batman franchise making more money than sliced bread, there is finally some legitimacy to the genre.

With that comes an even more interesting story, as directors Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) and David Slade (Hard Candy) are currently in the running to direct the sequel to 2008′s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. From Deadline.

20th Century Fox is between David Slade and Darren Aronofsky, I’m told. Slade, who just directed the summer hit The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, met over the weekend with Hugh Jackman on location where he is shooting Real Steel for DreamWorks. Aronofsky has also been talking with Jackman, and they have a good relationship that dates back to The Fountain.  Aronofsky has some momentum of his own because of Black Swan, I’d say Slade has the edge.

As exciting as it is to think that Wolverine 2 will be Aronofsky’s first super-hero film, and even first sequel, we aren’t holding our breath. It seems more believable that Fox will go with Slade, considering the success of his work on Twilight: Eclipse, and of course every executive think that those fans will translate over to a film about a furry Canadian with claws.

What this news does mean, however, is that Aronofsky is actually interested in doing a flick in this genre. That means that if he doesn’t end up working on Wolverine 2, we could see him attached to something more original, and maybe something that doesn’t have Gavin Hood’s stink all over it.

The sequel to Origins is set to send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to Japan, with heavy Asian and Ninja themes throughout the film. We just hope it will set something up for Ryan Reynolds to return as Deadpool in the future.

A new teaser trailer for the highly anticipated film Black Swan has been released and is up over at Apple Trailers. Aronofsky will direct a primarily female cast that includes Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, and Winona Ryder.

I’ll admit that I thought a psychological thriller set in the world of competitive ballet seemed pretty silly, but this trailer has me sold. Portman plays Nina, a ballet dancer who has been chosen to replace the principal dancer in Swan Lake. Just as she is settling into her new role a new dancer, played by Mila Kunis, shows up and lots of eerie things start unfolding.

The film plot has been tightly guarded, so that is about all I can tell you. What do you suppose is going on with the whole skin condition? How does that factor in? We’ll have to wait until December 1st to find out. The film will make a few festival stops at the Toronto Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival prior to its official release.

I find the career trajectory of Darren Aronofsky so interesting. He is one director who is never going to be pigeon-holed into one genre. His filmography is amazing. He started with Pi, which blew my mind, then moved on to Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, and now Swan Lake.

He’s a great talent, and he has yet to commit a career misstep, so I can’t wait to see what he does with this one. Check out the new teaser after the break.

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Those who had the dedication to sit through nearly 4 hours of film in the theater when Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse hit cinemas worldwide are tough. Not for the four-hour film stint, but because they managed to sit through Death Proof without tearing out their eyes.

Thankfully, we all had a selection of great, fake trailers in between the films to keep us entertained. Trailers directed by names like Eli Roth, Rob Zombie, and Edgar Wright, which are all still rumored to be in the works as real films. We all know that Rodriguez’s Machete is being planned, and almost ready to start.

After seeing those trailers, it was only a matter of time before the YouTube generation got their hands on some fun footage, and made it look like a Grindhouse film. What better film than something as depressing and cheap-looking as Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler.

Check out the masterpiece after the jump. Also, be sure to check out all of our other Fan Film Friday links while you’re at it.

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