While Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan is tearing it up in limited release (having banked $1.5 mil in only 4 days), buzz continues to build about his next feature, the superhero saga, The Wolverine. Aronofsky has earnestly expounded about this seemingly shocking next venture, and now Hugh Jackman, who collaborated previously with Aronofsky on The Fountain, is dropping some details.
Thus far we know this Wolverine adventure will be a one-off rather than a sequel, set in Japan where the fists of fury fighter will take on the father and brothers of the woman he loves. The script is being penned by Usual Suspects scribe Christopher McQuarrie, and shot by Matthew Libatique, who is responsible for the gritty yet glossy look of the Iron Man movies as well as Requiem for a Dream.
Jackman previously promised a Wolverine flick with “meat on the bones,” and now he’s admitted to EW that he too is beefing up, as he’s been asked to put on 25 pounds of muscle to reprise the role of the mutton-chopped hero, “which is more than I ever have for the role.” In achieving this kind of super-sized bodybuilding, Jackman’s calling on none other than Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who recently had to manage the same weight increase for Faster. (Check out Dan Mecca’s review here). “I rang him up and was like, Okay, tell me what’s going on.” What’s going on –for those interested in gaining mass in short order—is feasting on loads of proteins over chugging ice cream.
Beyond pronouncing he’d be packing on the pounds, Jackman revealed little else, assuring fans who despaired over the atrocious X-Men Origins: Wolverine that with Aronofsky at the helm, “This is like a whole new ballgame.” Jackman calls the acclaimed director a “visionary,” explaining, “we had a meeting about three weeks ago, catching up as friends more than anything, and he just ran a few ideas by me and my eyes just lit up, …just the ideas, the level of depth, and intelligence, and creativity. I think he’s been waiting so long to do a movie in this genre. When he found the script, he said this is it. It’s really exciting.”
Are you excited?