After garnering a coveted Best Director nomination for his work on Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky was decidedly committed to direct 20th Century Fox’s The Wolverine. It comes with a surprise that he has dropped out of the directing chair for the blockbuster. [THR]
The reason lies simply that he would be out of the country and away from his family for too long. The stand-alone film scripted by Christopher McQuarrie had plans to shoot in Japan, which would account for a nearly year-long overseas shoot. Fox stated that Hugh Jackman is still attached and they are “fully committed to making Wolverine and will move aggressively to find a new director.” We don’t know who that new director will be, but before Aronofsky was attached, Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) and Tony Scott (Man on Fire, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3) were both considered. In a statement on his departure Aronofsky stated:
“As I talked more about the film with my collaborators at Fox, who have been totally supportive throughout my work on the movie, 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.”
Fox followed up:
“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.”
You can also bet cinematographer Matthew Libatique, left with him, but just what will Aronofsky do next? He is developing his Noah adaptation into a comic-book before trying to pitch as a feature. He also has a new project, titled Machine Man, which seems to be right up his alley. There is also The Tiger, which has Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie roughly attached. After his monumental Black Swan gross and acclaim, you can bet he can choose what he wants. Stay tuned to TFS for more updates as they come in.
What do you think about Aronofsky dropping The Wolverine? What should he do next?