Ever since we reported in March that director Darren Aronofsky left The Wolverine, 20th Century Fox has been in search of a new director for the sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Today it has been revealed that the search has been narrowed down to eight directors: José Padilha, Doug Liman, Antoine Fuqua, Mark Romanek, Justin Lin, Gavin O'Connor, James Mangold, and commercials director Gary Shore.

While the candidates all have a wide variety of backgrounds, all of the directors except for Mark Romanek and Gary Shore have directed an action vehicle before. Earlier today we reported that José Padilha is developing a new project entitled Tri-Border with Gran Torino screenwriter Nick Schenk, although that project is in early stages of development. Justin Lin is also attached to direct Terminator 5, although star Arnold Schwarzenegger recently put a hold on all of his acting projects.

Shortly after director Darren Aronofsky left The Wolverine, 20th Century Fox indicated they were in no rush to find a replacement director. Christopher McQuarrie wrote the screenplay, which takes place in Japan. The location is another potential concern, in the aftermath of the recent earthquakes and tsunamis which have devastated the island country.

It isn't known when 20th Century Fox will make a final decision on The Wolverine director. We'll just have to wait and see.