Ok, now that your head is still reeling at the speed-ramping possibilities of Zack Snyder and the new “Superman” film, here’s some slightly less shocking news to end your day.
Speaking to the Uruguayan press, Hugh Jackman told the local media that “Wolverine 2” would be shooting in March or April of 2011. This sounds reasonable, the original timetable was January 2011 and those estimates are always a bit overly optimistic. The script is being written by Christopher McQuarrie and is said to be based of the classic 1982 “Wolverine” mini-series created by Chris Claremont and artist Frank Miller.
Recent directors who’s names have been touted to helm the picture include David Slade, Darren Aronofsky and Matt Reeves (Robert Schwentke has moved on). Aronofsky’s not going to take the gig, but he will let the producers buy him a free lunch and as a friend of Jackman (he directed him in “The Fountain”), he likely entertained the thought, but it’s more than probable that he’s already passed. With “Let Me In,” Reeves demonstrated he’s is more than half the director we first estimated with “Cloverfield” and the remake’s balance of tenderness and horror, certainly would make him a good fit for this material — but the filmmaker also seems to be a thoughtful and intelligent one, so after watching “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” we assume he knows better.
That leaves genre-for-hire man David Slade (“Twilight: Eclipse,” “30 Days Of Night”) and we’re willing to bet unless some bigger name enters the frame, he’s going to take the director’s spot.
Meanwhile, in smaller related comic-book movie news, according to Showbiz Spy, Christian Bale — who got rather emaciated once again for David O. Russell’s “The Fighter” — is once again bulking up for “Batman 3” which is also rumored to start shooting in the spring of 2011. Showbiz Spy isn’t the greatest source in the world, they report a lot of rumors, but there’s really no reason to doubt this small bit of info.