Darren Aronofsky has exited the directors position for the upcoming The Wolverine movie for 20th Century Fox, set to star Hugh Jackman in the title role again. Arronofsky was one of a handful of names bandied about for the sort-of sequel that many fans latched onto, especially as his Black Swan film gained him a lot of attention, but it turns out that he’s not interested in the heavy overseas schedule that will be involved in taking him away from his family. With all but two weeks of the filming to be done in Japan, and likely some concerns from family are playing into this as well, it’s definitely a lot of time to spend away in order to deliver an authentic film. Both Aronofsky and Fox have released statements about the turn of events:
Darren Aronofsky’s Statement: “As I talked more about the film with my collaborators at Fox, 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. I am sad that I won’t be able to see the project through, as it is a terrific script and I was very much looking forward to working with my friend, Hugh Jackman, again.”
Twentieth Century Fox Statement: “While we are of course disappointed that Darren can’t do ‘The Wolverine’, we also understand and respect his reasons. Having done both ‘The Wrestler’ and ‘Black Swan’ with Darren, we know he is an extraordinary talent and we look forward to working with him on other projects in the future. Hugh Jackman and Fox both remain fully committed to making ‘The Wolverine’. We will regroup and move forward aggressively.”
One of the other candidates for the feature was David Slade, who has just signed on to helm Daredevil for Fox. So who would be best to take on Wolverine’s Japanese adventure now?
