More than two months after "Black Swan" director Darren Aronofsky dropped out of directing “The Wolverine,” Fox is considering still working on his replacemnet, currently looking at a list of eight diverse candidates including helmers both with indie pedigree and tentpole experience, Variety's Rachel Abrams exclusively reports. Studio is considering Jose Padilha, Doug Liman, Antoine Fuqua, Mark Romanek, Justin Lin, Gavin O’Connor, James Mangold and Gary Shore (largely a commercials director) for the Hugh Jackman-toplined actioner. Gavin Hood — who directed the first “Wolverine” pic — and Aronofsky initially showed that the studio was open to picking directors more well-known for prestige films than commercial fare ... but the latest list demonstrates that Fox is also looking closely at directors with popcorn-flick credits.
