Fans were expecting a whole new type of Wolverine story when Darren Aronofsky talked about his reasons for making the next film, and as recently as last month Hugh Jackman was saying how he was bulking up for the role in a bid to do justice to the comics which sees the mutant waging a more personal battle in Japan.
Now with the devastating events in that country and the obvious aftermath, Aronofsky has pulled out of the movie. Sighting reasons of wanting to “spend more time with family”, the recent press release also claims how the director didn’t want to spend, what could be year out of the country.
Here’s the press release:
LOS ANGELES, CA (March 16, 2011) Darren Aronofsky and Twentieth Century Fox today issued the following statements about the director’s involvement in the movie, “The Wolverine”: Stated Aronofsky: “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.” Stated Twentieth Century Fox: “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.”
With today’s technology, the necessary imagery could be created digitally, however for a director like Aronofsky the authenticity of shooting in the country would’ve been a major draw card. Originally the movie was set to commence principal photography in March 2011 in New York City, and then move production to Japan for the rest of the shoot.
Now with news of the director leaving the project and the cataclysmic events in that country, the likely solution is shooting in a country that could double for Japan and use digital set extensions where needed. The naming of the film to ‘The Wolverine’ was Aronofsky’s idea to distant himself from the ‘Origins’ flick, and so as not to make a sequel but more of a reboot. In a previous interview he spoke of how he also wanted to make a movie where ‘he wasn’t the only person in the room who wanted to make it’, not to mention working on a mainstream movie.
For now the film is delayed but as the press release cites, Fox is moving forward aggressively which means finding a new director that can step into a production that was only weeks away from gearing up to shoot. While rewrites could be necessary, other issues such as sets and new locations could take some time to prepare – though the film is a priority for the studio, expect an announcement soon on who will take over the reigns.
via: Collider
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