Black Swan director Aronofsky exiting The Wolverine sequel

Darren Aronofsky is bowing out of 20th Century Fox’s sequel The Wolverine, saying the project would keep him out of the country for too long, according to THR. There are plans to shoot significant portions of the film in Japan. Fox and Hugh Jackman – who is set to return in the title role – said they remain fully committed to making Wolverine and will move aggressively to find a new director. Fox however, hasn’t officially greenlit the project.

The director, who previously worked with Jackman on The Fountain, wasn’t comfortable being away from his family for over a year, which has been estimated as the length of time for the production, however Aronofsky’s production company Protozoa still has a first-look deal with Fox.

Christopher McQuarrie is writing Wolverine, which doesn’t have a release date yet.