Darren Aronofsky also in talks to direct Wolverine sequel

Earlier this month we heard David Slade (Hard Candy, Twilight: Eclipse) and Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler’s Wife, upcoming Red) were in talks to direct Wolverine 2, however now according to Deadline Schwentke has removed himself from the competition and Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) has held talks with Hugh Jackman.

On the X-Men: Wolverine 2 front, 20th Century Fox is between David Slade and Darren Aronofsky, I’m told. Slade, who just directed the summer hit The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, met over the weekend with Jackman on location where he is shooting Real Steel for DreamWorks. Aronofsky has also been talking with Jackman, and they have a good relationship that dates back to The Fountain, when Jackman stepped in after Brad Pitt dropped out. Jackman holds a lot of clout in the decision and while Aronofsky has some momentum of his own because of Black Swan, I’d say Slade has the edge.

While David Slade has had more financial success recently with The Twilight Saga: Eclipse I would much prefer Darren Aronofsky to direct (although i’m not sure if he would do it). Aronofsky was going to direct a Robocop reboot until MGM’s financial situation ground that project to a halt, so its not as though he is against big budget movies. Directing a sequel to a rather disappointing prequel might not be in his interests.

As Slade has been approved by 20th Century Fox and is currently meeting with Jackman he looks to be the frontrunner.

The Usual Suspects writer Christopher McQuarrie has written the script which takes Wolverine to Japan and is apparently a big improvement on X-Men: Origins Wolverine. As soon as a director is chosen Fox will begin pre-production ready for an early 2011 shoot.