Darren Aronofsky bails on Hugh Jackman's'Wolverine'sequel

The"Black Swan"director has flown the coop on"Wolverine 2."

Oscar-nominatedfilmmakerDarren Aronofskybowed out on the sequel to 2009's"X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

"As I talked more 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,"theBrooklyn-born director said in a statement.

"I was not comfortable being away from my family for that length of time,"he said."I am sad that I won't be able to see the project through."

Aronofsky called the script"terrific"and added he was"very much looking forward to working with my friend,Hugh Jackman, again."

He and the mutton-chopped actor previously worked together on 2006's"The Fountain."

"While we are of course disappointed that Darren can't do 'The Wolverine,' we also understand and respect his reasons,"20th Century Foxsaid in response to the news."Having done both 'TheWrestler' and 'Black Swan' with Darren, we know he is an extraordinary talent and we look forward to working with him on other projects in the future."

The film company insists Jackman is still dedicated to the project, which reportedly would take place inJapan.

Aronofsky was a surprising choice for the very commercial"Wolverine"sequel. The filmmaker is known for small, independent films since exploding onto the film scene in 1998 with"Pi."

"Wolverine 2"was expected to be released in 2012, but it is unclear how Aronofsky's departure would impact that schedule.

msheridan@nydailynews.com; or follow him atTwitter.com/NYDNSheridan

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