Darren Aronofsky Drops Out of 'The Wolverine'

It seemed like just yesterday that Oscar-nominated director Darren Aronofsky ("The Fountain," "The Wrestler," "Black Swan") couldn't stop saying how excited he was to be working on a sequel to the widely-despised blockbuster "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

It seemed like an odd move given that all of his films to date have been projects he has personally initiated and seen through to completion, and when news came through this morning to Deadline that Aronofsky was leaving the production, memories of Fox's notoriously contentious relationship with strong-willed directors came to mind.

The truth is also a familiar one to Fox and the "X-Men" franchise. Aronofsky apparently didn't put two and two together to realize he'd be spending quite a long time in Japan.

"As I talked 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," Aronofsky said in a statement issued by Fox, "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."

Jackman previously collaborated with Aronofsky on "The Fountain."

This is all a little circumspect given that Matthew Vaughn, once set to direct "X-Men 3," cited the exact same reason for exiting that project two months before production was slated to begin. He later said he didn't have time to develop the film as he saw it.

All accounts so far have been that screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie delivered a great draft, but it's possible Aronofsky's vision for the film aesthetically was outside of what Fox was after. For now, we can only take his word on it.

The perception was that Aronofsky was largely taking the project to get a good hit in with the studios, but now that "Black Swan" has become an unprecedented blockbuster (crossing the $100 million mark domestically on a $12 million budget), he might have all the clout he needs.

If not, it's a shame that he won't have his latest chance to earn that the only way the studios see fit, but on the plus side, now he won't spend the next two or three years in the machine and will have a chance to develop something closer to him.

Fox reassured everyone in a statement that the machine will continue to "move forward aggressively" without Aronofsky.