David O. Russell won't return for 'The Fighter' sequel

You could just sort of sense it, couldn't you? A growing animosity between former kindred spirits Mark Wahlberg and David O. Russell? The two have been joined at the hip for years, with Wahlberg starring in Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees, and The Fighter for the director. Then there came that whole thing with the Uncharted adaptation, and while there was no beef at the time something seemed weird between them. O. Russell left, and there still seemed to be some question about whether Wahlberg would follow behind him.

Then the talk really started to heat up when Wahlberg was replaced by Bradley Cooper in The Silver Linings Playbook, O. Russell's next film which is already being whispered about as a possible future Oscar contender. Soon after, O. Russell would drop out of  2 Guns, a crime comedy he and Wahlberg had been attached to for months. He was replaced by Baltasar Kormákur, the director behind Wahlberg's latest, Contraband. So what's the deal? And what does this bode for the planned sequel to The Fighter?

ThePlaylist had a chance to speak to Wahlberg about it, and he says they are seeking a new director to helm the sequel, which would continue the story of "Irish" Micky Ward and his drug addict brother/trainer, played by Christian Bale. The film would presumably cover the legendary Gatti/Ward trilogy of slugfests. The script is being readied by Scott Silver, and Wahlberg says they'll choose a director once it's completed. Possibly in a year or year and a half is when they may begin.

This could all be overblown, and maybe Wahlberg and O. Russell are just as close as ever. It just doesn't look that way. Regardless, I'm not so sure I want to see a sequel. The Gatti/Ward fights are classics to me and every other fan of the sweet science. They don't need to be dramatized anymore than they were in real life.I'd much rather see somebody take on a thorough documentary on the trilogy.