In an update to the report that David Slade (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) was in talks to helm X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2, it appears that it is still down to two candidates. However Robert Schwentke is gone and in his place is Darren Aronofsky.
Even though a RoboCop reboot with Aronofsky at the helm is no longer happening, that doesn’t mean that an Aronofsky superhero movie is outside the realm of possibility. After all, he was one of the number of directors who was on-and-then-off the Batman reboot before Christopher Nolan took over.
Hugh Jackman and Arnofsky have a history with The Fountain, and he has apparently been talking with the director about the film but it could extend as far as “shop talk.” Darren Aronofsky looks to deliver his biggest film of his career with Black Swan, and jumping into a franchise sequel doesn’t seem like it would be his cup of tea. David Slade seems more adept to take over for a franchise since he did so with the third Twilight sequel. As for Robert Schwentke, he’s got The Osterman Weekend and R.I.P.D. with Ryan Reynolds on the horizon.
Outside of the X-Men films, Hugh Jackman hasn’t really had that much of a star presence. He’s done Van Helsing, The Prestige, and animated fare like Flushed Away and Happy Feet. None of those succeeded on his star power alone. So to see him flexing his claws, so to speak, about being involved with deciding the director shows some serious clout. Considering how many millions are at stake, I have the feeling that Aronofsky directing a comic-book movie is wishful thinking.
