Via Variety:
Darren Aronofsky has dropped out of "The Wolverine," the 20th Century Fox superhero tentpole that was aiming to begin shooting in Japan as early as this spring.
Aronofsky, nominated for a directing Oscar with "Black Swan," said he didn't want to be out of the country for more than a year.
"I was not comfortable being away from my family for that length of time," he said in a statement released by Fox. "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."
Though there was no firm shooting schedule in place, Aronofsky's departure leaves 20th Century Fox scrambling to find a helmer for the superhero pic that was reportedly set to lens in the earthquake- and tsunami-ravaged country in the coming months.
One possible scenario would be for the re-emergence of David Slade, who was a contender to take the helm on "Wolverine," but lost out to Aronofsky. Slade was just announced as the director of Fox's "Daredevil" reboot, but could easily shift over.
"While we are of course disappointed that Darren can't do 'The Wolverine', we also understand and respect his reasons," Fox said in the statement. "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."
I knew Aronofsky was going to ditch the project as soon as Black Swan started building serious Oscar momentum and made a killing at the box office. He can do just about anything he wants now, why would he shackle himself to a sequel to a bad film?
ReplyDeleteIndeed...the sky's the limit for him and so deserved, in my opinion. His command of character is so great that a part of me shudders to see him move into more mainstream big studio fare. Maybe he is rejecting the carrot "Black Swan"'s success dangled in front of him?
ReplyDeleteWell, he was confirmed to direct Wolverine back in October, before Black Swan became such a huge monster success. If anything, it's the exact opposite. Aronofsky is sniffing major opportunities and wanted out of the project as soon as Oscar came calling.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm going to assume he's truthful in not wanting to be away from his son so soon after splitting up with Rachel Weisz, but that's just me being naive...
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