Doug Liman, Mark Romanek, James Mangold & Antoine Fuqua Reportedly Top The 'Wolverine' Wishlist

by Edward Davis
May 25, 2011 10:32 AM
3 Comments

Other Directors Apparently In Contention For The Gig Include, Justin Lin, Jose Padilha, Gavin O'Connor & Gary Shore

20th Century Fox has a history and it's not always a good one. While Darren Aronofsky left "The Wolverine" project under the pretenses of family obligations, it's been reported that "Black Swan" director left the project due to lack of creative control. That coupled with the fact that Matthew Vaughn seems to have been put through the ringer by the studio on "X-Men: First Class" -- he was super rushed, was forced to use five different cinematographers, had to switch assistant directors and didn't know who his crew was on certain days -- and it's any wonder why anyone in their right mind would want to work on one of Fox's super hero films.

But god knows people need jobs and or studios can dream, can't they? Variety claims they've gotten wind of the those filmmakers on the "The Wolverine" short list. They include names rather big and small and at least one director (the guy who almost directed "The Wolf Man") who might be on a studio wish list, but who certainly knows better, having already dodged one major studio misfiring bullet.

The list reportedly is comprised of Doug Liman ("The Bourne Identity," "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"), Mark Romanek ("One Hour Photo," "Never Let Me Go"), Jose Padilha ("Elite Squad," the "RoboCop" reboot), Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day," "Brooklyn's Finest"), Justin Lin, the man behind "Fast Five," the year's highest grossing worldwide film to date, James Mangold who helmed "Walk the Line" and "3:10 to Yuma," Gavin O'Connor ("Pride and Glory") and Gary Shore, who is known for his television commercials primarily.

Our guess is it goes to someone like Lin (huge) and or someone like Padilha, O'Connor or Shore, but again, those are just guesses. What, no love for Matt Reeves or our five choices?

Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie penned the screenplay set in Japan and it's based off Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's extremely dark, bloody and intense 1982 limited series. Aronofsky, probably wanted to keep it just as brutal and 20the Century Fox is probably thinking PG-13 at most. Also, this is interesting, it appears the least known helmer on that list, Shore, made a trailer a few months ago called both "Wolverine vs. The Hand" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2." Looks like dude has wanted the gig for sometime now. Watch it below.
[Variety]

More: Films, Film Studios, Doug Liman, Jose Padilha, Antoine Fuqua, Mark Romanek, James Mangold, Justin Lin, Super Hero Films, The Wolverine, 20th Century Fox

3 Comments

| Reply
rodie | May 26, 2011 2:57 AMReply

I suggested Doug Liman way back when and still stand by it. He's talented. Not top tier by any stretch, but this is Wolverine people, not Shakespeare. Liman would do it justice.
Abner | May 25, 2011 11:00 AMReply

My guess: it's one of the directors they're currently considering.
Gatz | May 25, 2011 10:53 AMReply

In other words: HACKS!