Darren Aronofsky joins the Superman director shortlist

Last week it was revealed that producers Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas were meeting with several directors to potentially helm the upcoming Superman reboot for Warner Bros. The filmmakers included Tony Scott, Matt Reeves, Jonathan Liebesman, Duncan Jones and Zack Snyder. However, a new name has been thrown into the pile of contenders: Mr. Darren Aronofsky.

The L.A. Times reports that Nolan has met with Aronofsky about potentially taking on the franchise (and making his studio film debut).

Aronofsky’s latest thriller Black Swan is generating massive buzz ahead of its U.S. release, so it’s no surprise that WB are trying to lock him down for a big budget picture of their own. After all, that’s exactly what they did with Nolan when they signed him to helm the Batman series, and look how that worked out.

Although Aronofsky is best known as a strong-willed indie auteur, he has flirted with major studio blockbusters in the past. He was lined up to direct a Batman reboot before Nolan, he was long-attached to MGM’s now defunct Robocop remake, and was recently rumoured to be in the running to helm Wolverine 2 for Fox.

Black Swan opens in Australian cinemas January 20th, 2011.

Discuss: Would you like to see Aronofsky get the big job, or would you prefer it if one of the other contenders was chosen by Nolan?