Gavin Hood has been signed as the Director for the Wolverine X-Men spin off, starring Hugh Jackman as the manicure needy mutant.

Of all the Directors who I thought could have been assigned to the film I didn't think it would be Gavin Hood, the Director of the excellent Tsotsi (Filmstalker review). I don't mean that in a negative way as though he's a terrible choice, far from it, I think he's an excellent one, I just would never have expected it. The news comes from Variety.

Tsotsi is a South African film about life in the Johannesburg poor shanty towns, the gangs, crime, and how the rich lifestyles are only a stone's throw away. Now the South African Director is off to bring to life the early years of Wolverine. What a leap.

Mind you, before that he's been working on Rendition, a film starring Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin and Peter Sarsgaard about a CIA analyst who witnesses a rough interrogation in a secret detention facility and struggles with what he's seen.

It sounds like a good stepping stone towards the big budget Hollywood, but there's still a fair change in direction there. I have every confidence that Hood will bring something special and interesting to Wolverine though. Let's keep a close watch on this one.