Considering the Comic Con buzz surrounding Thor, Captain America, and The Green Lantern, news on the Wolverine sequel has been a bit light. Last we heard, Christopher McQuarrie was hired a few months ago to write the script - otherwise there hasn’t been much information on the film.

But today we're finally getting some intriguing news - 20th Century Fox has apparently narrowed their choices down to two directors: Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) and action veteran Tony Scott (Man on Fire).

The Playlist reports that the directors have been selected by Fox from a long list of potential helmers which also included Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow and Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov. Bigelow and Bekmambetov would certainly have brought something different to the comic book sequel – but both were also unlikely choices.

Reeves has become something of a low-level auteur after directing the J.J. Abrams’ produced Cloverfield and the forthcoming remake of Let the Right One In (re-titled Let Me In).

Scott has directed a variety of big budget action films for nearly thirty years including The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and Top Gun.

On paper Reeves would appear to be the best option - since he's got less on his plate, after he puts the finishing touches on Let Me In, he'd have a lot of time to dedicate to the film. Most of all, from the Studio's perspective, Reeves would be cheaper and more malleable than Scott - who is extremely well established and currently has several projects in pre-production stages.

Scott however, brings his Scott Free production company to the table (which he shares with his brother Ridley) - so his number is obviously on studio-boss speed-dial. Though, even with Scott Free at his back, his last two films have struggled a bit, The Taking of Pelham 123 underperformed at the box office despite the combined star power of Denzel Washington and John Travolta. His latest action film Unstoppable faced a few production delays due to budgetary reasons.

As a result, stepping into an established franchise would be a way of keeping Scott's commercial viability active, it wouldn’t be the first time the British director helmed a sequel, as he also took over directing duties on Beverly Hills Cop 2, despite not taking part in the original.

The downside for Scott is he's set to direct Potsdamer Platz in the new year – just when Wolverine 2 is set to shoot. However, Wolverine 2 may soon be facing a delay - putting Scott back in the running.

At this stage, nothing is remotely set in stone, and both directors could simply drop out or reject an offer. During production of  X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Australian director Gavin Hood faced a lot of problems with Fox honcho Tom Rothman – Hood was later replaced by Superman director Richard Donner for re-shoots. Would Scott or Reeves be up for this challenge?

If Wolverine 2 does intend to shoot in January then I’m sure we'll hear an announcement soon. Wolverine (and the X-Men) is a big franchise for 20th Century Fox, so you would imagine that they’d want their director to spend a solid amount of time on pre-production.

That is unless they want it to end up like X-Men: The Last Stand.

We'll keep you posed on any further Wolverine 2 news as we get it.

Source: The Playlist