Okay, so X-Men Origins: Wolverine didn’t work out quite like everyone hoped it would. A muddled story, weird direction and action set pieces, and a Deadpool character that will make the spinoff movie actually ignore anything that happened in the second half of this film. However, anything that has ever made money in Hollywood has always had the chance to make it again, so here comes Wolverine 2. So what kind of damage are we looking at?
Hugh Jackman has been pretty adamant that the sequel would take place in Japan. In the comics, Wolverine has a history of playing samurai in Japan, so the writers of the sequel would definitely be going to the Marvel storyline well to keep to fanboys happy with this one. The most interesting rumor to come out the last couple of days is who is in the running for the directors seat. According to Deadline Hollywood, it has been narrowed down to two names- David Slade (30 Days of Night, Twilight: Eclipse) and Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream).
Forget Slade. Sure, he may end up with the job, but let’s face it, Aronofsky makes Wolverine 2 a lot more interesting. Even the concept of Aronofsky directing something like this is hard to wrap your head around, until you realize that he has actually been circling several failed genre films the last several years. There was the Robocop remake that was seemingly being talked about for years. There was Lone Wolf and Cub. Am I the only one that remembers his Batman: Year One movie that was supposed to be made at the same time as Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins?
Maybe that is what this all boils down to. For every film that Aronofsky produces to acclaim, he has to scratch, claw, and scrape together the financing, which takes years. After The Dark Knight, Nolan cashed in his opportunity to make any film he wanted on Warner Brothers dime and gave them Inception, another gigantic hit, giving him even more clout in the industry.
Could a comic book movie finally break Aronofsky out of the art house world? Could Jackman become his Christian Bale? The Wrestler is the biggest hit of Aronofsky’s career, and while $26 million is a nice return on a small indy budget, that’s not going to get you invited to sit at the grown-up’s table too often. It’s sad that Wolverine 2 might be your best shot at a breakthrough, but you have to take them as they come.
One word of advice for the sequel: don’t bring back Will.I.Am. You’re a good director, but John Ford would have hung himself trying to get a good performance out of this guy.