With Darren Aronofsky pulling a disappearing act on the Wolverine sequel, 20th Century Fox have been sniffing around for another director to take his place. Now Variety reports that they’ve drawn up a shortlist of eight names that they think might have the chutzpah to carry the franchise.
So without further a do, let’s go bub…
First up is Doug Liman, who had some success with The Bourne Identity and Mr. and Mrs. Smith before pissing it all up the wall with Jumper. But he’s competent with action, has handled big name talent before and has delivered decent box office returns in the past so it’s an
Next up is Brazilian director José Padilha who’s received critical praise for Elite Squad. He’s also fresh on everyone’s radar as he’s just been hired for the RoboCop reboot (another Darren Aronofsky orphan) and has just announced his new drug Tri-Border.
Mark Romanek is a surprising name considering he’s never work on a blockbuster before. His previous efforts One Hour Photo and this year’s Never Let Me Go are much more understated affairs. Still, Wolvie 2 could probably do with a bit more soul, so it’d be interesting to see what he could make of it.
Almost a polar opposite is explosion merchant Justin Lin, who’s just finished dusting the debris off his shoulders after Fast And The Furious 5. He was due to work on The Terminator reboot but it’s probably been scuppered due to Arnie’s “Who Is Your Daddy And What Does He Do?” scandal last week, so he’s got some time on his hands.
Antoine Fuqua knows how to deliver gritty – Training Day was a resounding success. The he gave us King Arthur… But on the other hand Brooklyn’s Finest was a perfectly decent cop drama. It looks like he can do urban environments well but might have a bit of trouble with the more fantastical elements.
Gavin O’Connor will be less familiar to audiences as he’s only really worked on Miracle, the story of the 1980 US Olympic ice hockey team and crime drama Pride And Glory. Warrior, the story of a marine turned UFC fighter with Tom “Bane” Hardy and Joel Egerton will be out later this year. He’d be good for Wolverine’s fight scenes then it seems.
Then we have James Mangold, who can successfully blend drama and action as he proved with 3:10 To Yuma. It’s just unfortunate that his last film Knight & Day was a total stinker.
Lastly, there’s Gary Shore, who comes from an advertising background but made this impressive trailer for a film he wants to make called The Cup Of Tears which has plenty of swordplay. It’d be a big gamble if Fox gave him the job but it wouldn’t be the first time that major franchises have been given to commercial directors. Sometimes this works well (David Fincher – Alien 3 might have been cack but it wasn’t his fault and just look at what he’s done since), sometimes it doesn’t (McG – Terminator: Salvation – go drown yourself in a bucket).
So with those names released, who do you think should get the gig? Snikt!
