Darren Aronofsky offered Wolverine 2, wasn't given Superman because the script's "a mess"

Now that Darren Aronofsky's out of the running to Superman, he's entered negotiations to helm Wolverine 2. Apparently Aronofsky was passed over for Superman because the script's in bad shape, and Warner Bros. has no time for perfectionism. Weird!

Now that Zack Snyder is directing the next Superman movie, Aronofsky's reps are negotiating with Fox over Wolverine 2. Vulture reports that Aronofsky was originally interested in directing the new Superman, in which Clark Kent is a globe-hopping journalist who's ambivalent on the prospect of becoming Superman. Now that Snyder's in the director's chair, Aronofsky's giving Wolverine goes to Japan greater consideration.

This is bizarre news, but what's even curiouser is Warner Bros.' rationale for offering Snyder the script. Vulture notes that the Superman script is in a rough spot, and the Warners need someone to punch out the film in a jiff. Enter Snyder:

We're told by knowledgeable insiders the reason Warner Bros. picked Snyder for Man of Steel is that the script by David Goyer was rushed, is still a bit of a mess, and that Warner Bros. needs someone who won't spend months or even years trying to get it just right (i.e. Aronofsky), because time is the one thing they don't have: The studio must have a new Superman movie in production by 2011 or they'll be subject to potential lawsuits by the heirs of the superhero's creators. We're told that Snyder was not really Warner's first choice to direct Superman, but that a director needed to be hired imminently. Privately, even Snyder has confided to agency sources that the current Superman script needs work [...]

Yikes. Certain rights to the hero do revert to the heirs of Jerry Siegel in 2011, so that's likely what the Warners are referring to. Warner Bros. is still trying to recruit Aronofsky for the 1940s gangster flick Tales From the Gangster Squad. In any case, the notion of a Aronofsky directing a samurai Wolverine flick is so crazy it might just work. We're imagining hyper-stylized adamantium battles under sakura blossoms set to a Clint Mansell koto-infused soundtrack. Or hell, maybe it'll just look like this:

[Via Vulture. Top Image via.]