This was just too good to be true. A few months ago, it was announced that Darren Aronofsky had made his Sophie’s Choice between directing the upcoming Robocop reboot or working on the sequel for 20th Century’s X-Men spin-off X-Men Origins: Wolverine, titled simply, The Wolverine.
As amazing of an idea as it was to have an Oscar nominated director taking on one of Marvel’s most beloved characters, it was definitely too good to be true. It seems that Aronofsky has parted from 20th Century Fox and stepped down as director of The Wolverine. From EW.
In a statement issued by the studio, Aronofsky said, “It became clear that the production of The Wolverine would keep me out of the country for almost a year. I was not comfortable being away from my family for that length of time.” (The film was reportedly going to be set in Japan.) “I am sad that I won’t be able to see the project through,” continued Aronofsky, “as it is a terrific script and I was very much looking forward to working with my friend, Hugh Jackman, again.”
It looks as if this was a mutual break, however, as Fox is also pretty bummed.
Twentieth Century Fox echoed Aronofsky’s regret: “While we are of course disappointed that Darren can’t do The Wolverine, we also understand and respect his reasons … Hugh Jackman and Fox both remain fully committed to making The Wolverine. We will regroup and move forward aggressively.”
So the question now becomes: who could the studio get to replace the quite large shoes of Darren “Black Swan” Aronofksy. Fans everywhere are hoping that the studio doesn’t go with another obscure name like Gavin Hood, considering the negative reaction that the first film got.
As upsetting as this new may be, it’s not the end of the production. Chris McQuarrie’s script is still finished and Jackman is still 100% ready to go, so once the studio finds a replacement, they should be back on schedule for a 2012 release date.
