Director of Knight & Day offered The Wolverine

After Darren Aronofsky jumped ship from The Wolverine, every fan boy had a good cry.  The film is the sequel to the terrible X-Men Origins: Wolverine, starring Hugh Jackman as the clawed X-Man. 

It has actually taken a lot longer for Fox to put an offer to a new director than I thought it would.  Well it finally happened and the offer is going to director James Mangold.  You might remember him from last years under performing, Tom Cruise starring, Knight & Day. 

Mangold is actually a great director with films like Walk the Line and 3:10 to Yuma under his belt.  I liked Kight & Day, despite it's bad reviews.  3:10 to Yuma is such a great, and underrated film.  I was never really jumping up for joy for Aronofsky directing the film, this will do just fine in my book.  What do you guys think?

Darren Aronofsky leaving The Wolverine

I remember it like yesterday.  First the director was just a rumor.  Then it was confirmed.  Then the title of the film was official... The Wolverine!  And now?  Well, now that same director is jumping ship.  Darren Aronofsky has left the sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  Here is the quote Aronofsky gave about leaving the project:

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.

Click the jump for more...
I don't buy that ish for ONE minute!  He didn't know an action picture of this size and scope was going to take a year of his life?  Really?  He's a rookie director?  He must not know how these things work huh?  Get the uh out of uh.  C'mon.  Maybe the studio didn't like the direction he was heading with one of their tent pole films?  Wouldn't be the first Wolverine featured films that that happens with.  The studio fought director Gavin Hood repeatedly about the direction of the first 'Origins' film.  Maybe I'm upset at the news, but I don't think so.

Here's what the studio, Fox, had to say about it:

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.

Interesting.  

I've always been a fan of Aronofsky's visual style... until Black Swan. I don't really want to get into that film because that's neither here nor there.  I don't care that Aronofsky is leaving even though his vision would have been an interesting one.  So who directs it now?  Your thoughts?

Darren Aronofsky's "Wolverine" Sequel Now Has a Title

So, yes, it has been confirmed that Darren Aronofsky will re-team with Hugh Jackman for the Wolverine sequel. We already know the director and lead actor, as well as the plot. It will follow the Frank Miller, Japan Saga. Where Logan (aka Wolverine) falls in love with a married woman, the wife of a samurai. Logan must battle the villagers in hopes of ending up with the woman he loves.

The title has been revealed by Aronofsky himself. The movie will be called; The Wolverine. Back to basics, I like it! I never really liked the whole "X-Men Origins" part of the title anyway. It doesn't make sense to even use that if 'Wolverine' was going to be the only entry in the franchise; now that X-Men Origins: Magneto has been canceled. Aronofsky has an interesting visual style as well as the ability to tell a love story. He will do well and I will see this movie. That is all.

Hugh Jackman Confirms Aronofsky to Direct "Wolverine 2"

In a recent quick interview with Hugh Jackman, Vulture found out that Darren Aronofsky will indeed be directing the sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, confirming Tonedog's earlier rumor post.
I hope it'll be worth it and make up for the terrible first film.

Here's what Jackman had to say:

"This is, hopefully for me, going to be out of the box. It’s going to be the best one, I hope…Well, I would say that, but I really do feel that, and I feel this is going to be very different.
"This is Wolverine. This is not Popeye. He’s kind of dark… But, you know, this is a change of pace. Chris McQuarrie, who wrote The Usual Suspects, has written the script, so that’ll give you a good clue. [Aronofsky’s] going to make it fantastic. There’s going to be some meat on the bones. There will be something to think about as you leave the theater, for sure."

UPDATE: Darren Aronofsky Confirmed to Direct "Wolverine 2"

Yes it was only a rumor at first, but now Hugh Jackman has confirmed. Via various websites, here's a quote from Jackman himself:

This is Wolverine. This is not Popeye. He’s kind of dark… But, you know, this is a change of pace. Chris McQuarrie, who wrote The Usual Suspects, has written the script, so that’ll give you a good clue. [Aronofsky’s] going to make it fantastic. There’s going to be some meat on the bones. There will be something to think about as you leave the theater, for sure.

Could it be Darren Aronofsky is directing Wolverine 2? Ok, so he directed Hugh Jackman in The Fountain. Like 6 people saw the damn thing. Well, maybe it's because Zack Snyder got the Superman job and Darren Aronofsky didn't. Even though he was rumored to be in the running? I don't know, that's speculation on my part. /Slashfilm via Vulture are reporting the news.

I couldn't see Aronofsky making Superman and I don't see him doing Wolverine 2 either. Don't get me wring, I think he's a great director. Maybe Fox sees something in him that will improve upon the awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Improving the first film wont be very difficult. Director Gavin Hood butchered that film. There was so much wrong with the movie, it's not even funny. Check out my original review here.

Aronofsky is a dramatic director, but so was Gavin Hood. I believe that directors with a dramatic background are going to continue having difficulties in a genre such as superhero films. I wouldn't mind seeing an Aronofsky-directed Wolverine, but he wouldn't be my first pick. What do you think?

Writer found for X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2

Every few days to a week we are getting more details about the 'Wolverine' sequel. Last week, Hugh Jackman revealed that the film would follow the Japan saga made popular in the 1980's comic. This week a writer has been hired, a good one! Christopher McQuarrie has written movies like Valkyrie, The Way of the Gun, and won an Oscar for The Usual Suspects in 1996 for Best Original Screenplay. Not a bad resume.

The next rumor/ order of business is, who will direct? Neither the studio or Jackman are saying if Gavin Hood would return. The greatest rumor of all is Bryan Singer. A few months ago we told you that producers wanted him for a Gambit spin-off. Now we're hearing he may do the Wolverine sequel. He has a great relationship with Jackman, whom he discovered. So it looks like a good fit considering Singer has worked with McQuarrie on three films now. We'll see what happens in the upcoming weeks. But I am very pleased with McQuarrie as writer of Wolverine 2, hope the studio doesn't mess this one up.

Quickie: Wolverine 2 to take place in Japan

Hey folks, it looks like X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2 will indeed take place in Japan. MTV interviewed Hugh Jackman about the upcoming film and he said, "I think the fans love that saga. It's my favorite saga of the Wolverine stories."

I am a fan of the comics and have indeed read the saga. In other media, X-Men The Animated Series covered it and touched on the feud between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike, which started in Japan. Wolverine has a rich history and there's a lot of things they could do with the Japan saga.

Here is something I'm worried about: how are they going to introduce new mutants we haven't seen in previous X-Men films? I mean, there are mutants in the Japan saga, but none that the general public are going to go goo goo ga ga over. So it will be interesting to see who they weave into the story. Either way I like the direction they're headed and hopefully it is better than the first Wolverine movie. We'll see!

Here is the Hugh Jackman interview with MTV: