Just when things were looking so good for The Wolverine , the comic book sequel has hit a devastating snag – it’s just lost director Darren Aronofsky.
The Black Swan filmmaker, who signed on last year to helm the follow-up to 2009’s middling X-Men Origins: Wolverine , has departed the production, citing the film’s long production schedule as a problem.
“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,” Aronofsky says in a press statement.
“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.”
No matter how you look at it, this is a massive disappointment. Aronofsky has sounded genuinely amped to be helming the comic sequel, and everything he’s said about it has given the impression that his Wolverine was going to be something really special.
Now that he’s walked away, 20th Century Fox will “regroup and move forward aggressively”, which basically means they’ll be grabbing the closest director and handing them the keys to Aronofsky’s project.
Our interest in this project just went out the door with Aronofsky.