AceShowbiz -

As the actor has been bulking up and the helmer has been hired, "The Wolverine" is ready to go into production. Fox Filmed Entertainment has confirmed that the second "Wolverine" movie, which has Darren Aronofsky on board as the director, will kick off principal photography in April 2011.

The new scoop for "The Wolverine" is revealed through a press release made by the studio to announce that Aronofsky's production company Protozoa Film has signed a two-year, overall deal with Fox. Under the deal, Protozoa will develop and produce films for both Twentieth Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures.

And the follow-up to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" will be his debut picture under the pact. "We're excited Darren is going to bring his unique vision to 'THE WOLVERINE' and we take great satisfaction that Fox, irrespective of the size of his films, continues to provide a home for his extraordinary talent," Emma Watts, president of production, Twentieth Century Fox says in the statement.

Also welcoming Aronofsky, Fox Searchlight heads, Steve Gilula and Nancy Utley add, "We at Fox witnessed this first hand with his work on 'The Wrestler', and 'Black Swan', and now, on 'THE WOLVERINE', which will be an exciting take on that iconic figure and on the genre itself. We can't wait to see what else Darren has in store for us." Fox Searchlight has produced and distributed "Black Swan" and distributed "The Wrestler".

"The Wolverine" will follow Hugh Jackman's Logan in Japan and dealing with ninjas as he struggles whether to follow his animal killer instincts or the life under a samurai's code of honor and respect. The film is promised to be a "one-off" and won't be a sequel to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" in any conventional sense.