Christian Bale and Michael Fassbender have previously been linked to the lead role in Darren Aronofsky’s next project Noah, which will be a big screen adaptation of the Noah’s Ark story. Now Deadline reports that the Black Swan director wants Russell Crowe as his lead.

No deal has been reached, but apparently “signs are pointing that way”. The site also mentions Aronofsky is eyeing Liam Neeson for another role, but no further details are given. If Crowe ends up play Noah it’ll be another iconic role to add to his list, which already includes Maximus in Gladiator, Robin Hood, and Jor-El in Man of Steel which will be out next year.

Below is a French trailer for the graphic novel released last year which gives us an idea of what to expect:

Last year Aronofsky said:

“Since I was a kid, I have been moved and inspired by the story of Noah and his family’s journey. The imaginations of countless generations have sparked to this epic story of faith. It’s my hope that I can present a window into Noah’s passion and perseverance for the silver screen”.

Academy Award nominated screenwriter John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator) is re-writing the script and the aim is to begin production this summer.

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Over recent months we’ve been hearing about Darren Aronofsky’s next project Noah, which will be a big screen adaptation of the Noah’s Ark story. In October Paramount and New Regency came on-board to finance and distribute the $130 million movie, and Aronofsky was said to be interested in having Christian Bale play the lead character.

Well Variety now reports that Bale has had to pass on the role as he’ll be shooting Terrence Malick’s next two films, Lawless and Knight of Cups, back-to-back next year. Instead, Aronofsky is said to be holding talks with Michael Fassbender.

Fassbender is on a roll at the moment following the success of X-Men: First Class and that’s unlikely to slow down with the awards buzz he’s picking up for Steve McQueen’s Shame. Fassbender is no stranger to the swords and sandals genre having starred in 300, but this time he’ll be leading the film instead of playing a supporting role.

Below is a recently released French trailer for the graphic novel which gives us an idea of what to expect:

Earlier this year Aronofsky said:

“Since I was a kid, I have been moved and inspired by the story of Noah and his family’s journey. The imaginations of countless generations have sparked to this epic story of faith. It’s my hope that I can present a window into Noah’s passion and perseverance for the silver screen”.

Academy Award nominated screenwriter John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator) is re-writing the script and the aim is to begin production next year.

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Darren Aronofsky has been trying to make a big screen adaptation of the Noah’s Ark story for years now, but before The Wrestler his movies never made more than $40 million at the box office and nobody was interested in putting money behind his script.

As a result Aronofsky decided to get tactical and decided he would first make his script into a graphic novel, saying “it seems like if you come up with an original script, in Hollywood it’s not as effective as a comic book. It doesn’t even have to be successful as a comic.” He teamed with artist Nico Henrichon on the project, around the same time Black Swan was getting a lot of attention.

The movie earned Natalie Portman an Oscar, and it also made $329 million worldwide. This, along with the graphic novel, put Aronofsky in a strong position to pitch his Noah story to studios, and earlier this month Paramount and New Regency got behind the project, with the aim to enter production as early as next spring.

Now the French trailer for the graphic novel has been released (via /Film), and it gives us an idea of what to expect.

It seems Aronofsky wants to make his own version of 300, and with the budget said to be around $130 million he’ll be able to do that. No word on casting yet (Christian Bale was thought to be in talks), but announcements will likely be coming soon.

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We heard back in June that Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky was looking for studio backing for his biblical epic Noah, which will be a big screen adaptation of the Noah’s Ark story. Now Paramount and New Regency have announced that they will get behind the project, and the aim is to get into production as early as next spring.

In the press release Aronofsky said:

“Since I was a kid, I have been moved and inspired by the story of Noah and his family’s journey. The imaginations of countless generations have sparked to this epic story of faith. It’s my hope that I can present a window into Noah’s passion and perseverance for the silver screen”.

Academy Award nominated screenwriter John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator) will now re-write the script by Aronofsky & Ari Handel. Christian Bale was previously thought to be in line to play the lead, so with the project on track we may hear about the actor making a deal soon. If not, they’ll be finding another actor to play Noah.

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Following Darren Aronofsky’s departure from The Wolverine the director has been looking for his next project, and with the financial and critical success of Black Swan he’s in a position to make practically any movie he wants (if people finance it).

Over recent weeks there has been talk of Aronofsky eyeing an “edgy re-telling” of the Bible story Noah’s Ark, but with the budget estimated to be around $130 million New Regency are said to be seeking co-financiers (Paramount, Summit Entertainment and 20th Century Fox are potentials). One way to secure financing would be to find a well known lead, and Aronofsky may have found one in Christian Bale.

From Vulture:

Aronofsky is in talks with Christian Bale about possibly starring in his take on Noah’s Ark, to help secure studio backing for it. Presumably, Aronofsky wants Bale for the lead, even though Noah was 600 years old when the Great Flood hit, and Bale is only 37.

Regardless, locking down Bale early — even before there’s money to make an offer — would have the twofold benefit of both securing a leading man and helping land the rest of the money needed to make such an expensive, effects-driven film.

Christian Bale is now an Oscar winner and is currently filming one of the most anticipated movies of recent years, The Dark Knight Rises, so if anyone can secure financing for Aronofsky’s risky Bible story it’s him.

What do you think of a potential Aronofsky/Bale collaboration? Should they set tickets up for pre-ordering now?

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After withdrawing from directing The Wolverine because he couldn’t re-locate to Japan for the lengthy shoot, it was only a matter of time before Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky lined up his next film.

According to Vulture Aronofsky’s next may be a sci-fi film 15 years in the making called Human Nature. George Clooney is apparently attached, and will play a man who is cryogenically frozen and wakes up years later to a world in which humans have become pets of another species.

It’s still early days but producer Akiva Goldsman (I Am Legend) is currently working out the budget, and it could be Aronofsky’s next project.

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Following Darren Aronofsky’s departure from The Wolverine there were conflicting reports on what the studio planned to do next considering Japan (where they plan to shoot) is still suffering from the recent earthquake/tsunami, and there are no directors currently lined up to replace Aronofsky.

However while at CinemaCon promoting his robot boxing movie Real Steel Hugh Jackman said Fox are still moving forward, and are currently searching for a new director.

From SHH:

“We need to find another director and once we’ve found that, we’ll be able to know,” Jackman told us. “It’s too early to call on Japan, I’m not sure where they’re at, so now we’re finding another director, but Fox is very anxious to make the movie and we’re moving ahead full steam to find another director.”

The script, written by The Usual Suspects writer Christopher McQuarrie, takes Wolverine to Japan where he falls for a woman named Mariko, the daughter of a Japanese crime lord. It has recieved a lot of praise from everyone involved, including Aronofsky and David Slade who almost signed on to direct last year.

Aronofsky would have been the ideal candidate to inject some life into the Wolverine franchise after X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but there are other talented filmmakers who could handle it.

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We got news last week that David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) was being lined up by 20th Century Fox to direct their Daredevil reboot. A few days later it was announced that Darren Aronofsky would no longer directing The Wolverine.

Both are somewhat related as Slade was all but signed on to direct The Wolverine before Aronofsky came on-board, so Fox could potentially offer him the chance to work with Hugh Jackman again now there are no Oscar-nominated geniuses in the way. With all this speculation Slade ventured onto Twitter to give us an update.

On Daredevil:

Forgot to look at the internet for a few weeks and its a litany of false (and not so far off) rumours. So without breaking confidentiality, yes Daredevil, we have a great outline for a very strong character driven take on Mr Matt Murdock. It will bare [sic] no relation to the previous Daredevil movie in any way. We are at early planning stages and have not yet discussed any cast.

On Wolverine:

WOLVERINE, there have been no discussions about this project to date. Interesting to see what will happen with that as the again excellent script by Chris McQuarrie was set largely in Japan. So that’s all the news that’s fit to print.

Last year Slade spoke about almost directing The Wolverine, and he was obviously disappointed about not landing the gig.

I had a great meeting with Hugh Jackman. We were all ready to go and then Darren Aronofsky, who has a great relationship with Hugh, showed up. You kind of feel like: “well, the girlfriend’s come back. I can either put up a fight here or I can just let nature take its course.”

Wolverine is a proven franchise, and will therefore be a bigger priority for 20th Century Fox. There are conflicting reports on what the studio plans to do next considering Japan (where they plan to shoot) is still suffering from the recent earthquake/tsunami, and there are no directors currently lined up to replace Aronofsky. If they do intend to continue with filming later this year (Jackman can’t stay bulked up forever) then they will obviously be looking for potential directors, and Slade could be one of them if Daredevil is still at the outline stage.

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Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky was set to direct The Wolverine with Hugh Jackman later this year, however it was announced today that Aronofsky would no longer be directing the movie.

In a statement the director said:

“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.”

I’m getting flashbacks to 2005 when Matthew Vaughn said a similar thing regarding X-Men 3. At the time is was a creative issue, but when Aronofsky signed on last year he was given final cut of the movie, so this personal reason for leaving may be true (but I guess we’ll find out more further down the line).

Update: “Deadline has heard that his withdrawal has to do with his breakup with actress Rachel Weisz, and custody issues involving their son.”

20th Century Fox said:

“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.”

I am disappointed by this news, as I’m sure many Wolverine and Aronofsky fans are. As an X-Men fan I didn’t really care for Wolverine (he hogged all the screentime in the trilogy), but after X-Men Origins: Wolverine the prospect of an Aronofsky-directed comic book movie sounded too good to pass up. Aronofsky has never dealt with a budget above $60 million, so it would have been interesting to see what he could do with $150 million.

The search for a new director will obviously now begin. Before Aronofsky become attached David Slade (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Hard Candy) was all but signed on, so he could potentially jump back on. However just a days ago we heard that he is being courted by 20th Century Fox for the Daredevil reboot.

The Wolverine, written by The Usual Suspects writer Christopher McQuarrie, takes Wolverine to Japan where he falls for a woman named Mariko, the daughter of a Japanese crime lord.

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Back in July last year MGM’s RoboCop reboot was officially declared dead as at the time the company was still knee deep in bankruptcy, with no sign of a way out. Since then the company has emerged from bankruptcy with the help of Spyglass Entertainment and is moving forward with The Hobbit and Bond 23.

With their main projects under-way they are starting to look at other movies to develop, and it looks like they are revisiting plans to reboot RoboCop.

From Variety:

The Lion has finally started to really stir, with MGM announcing its first post-bankruptcy co-financing deal Thursday and studio execs telling creative reps that it’s moving on a quintet of projects, including remakes of 1980s pics “Mr. Mom” and “The Idolmaker” and long-gestating reboots of “RoboCop” and “Poltergeist.”

A reboot of “RoboCop.” Pic was being fast-tracked for a 2010 release as the first potential tentpole to come together under Parent’s regime, with director Darren Aronofsky attached at one point. Phoenix Pictures’ Mike Medavoy, who produced the original film for Orion in 1987, was on board as producer alongside Arnold Messer, Brad Fischer and David Thwaites.

Darren Aronofsky will be occupied with The Wolverine for another year, but in November he said he was still interested in directing his version of RoboCop. David Self (Road to Perdition) had written the script, and while no details were released, Self said it was “definitely not a sequel. It’s an origin story, it’s an origin to the original Robocop. So, it’s basically a ‘reboot’.” MGM could wait for Aronofsky and continue to develop Self’s script, or they could start again from scratch with another director and writer.

As well as RoboCop, MGM also plan on proceeding with a new Hercules project — one that sees the mythical hero turning his back on the gods and forming a ruthless army — and a fourth installment to the Poltergeist franchise.

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