I loved The Wrestler, we all loved The Wrestler, but I’m also looking forward to seeing Darren Aronofsky return to his roots. For him, returning to his roots means returning to the world of visually stunning, optically experimental filmmaking. The Wrestler is wonderful, but also stripped down, simple, and visually uninteresting. Plenty of directors could have taken Mickey Rourke and made that same movie, so let’s get Darren Aronofsky back out there doing things nobody else would ever do, like sending Hugh Jackman tree climbing in a nebula.

Aronofsky’s next flick is something called Black Swan and it sounds like it could be a return to that visual oddity I’ve been hoping for. It’s a supernatural thriller set in the New York City ballet, providing Darren not only the opportunity to deliver ghosts, but also to set them in an a concert hall or opera house, always a visually rewarding place. Phantom of the Opera with toe shoes instead of singing.

Better still, he’ll be able to bring one of Hollywood’s most interesting actresses into his frequently freaked out world. THR says Natalie Portman is now attached to play the lead, and it’s her name that has this project moving forward after being put into turnaround at Universal Pictures.

Natalie will star in Black Swan as a veteran ballerina competing with a rival dancer. Here’s the twist: The rival dancer it would seem, is not a living person. Instead she’s either competing against a delusion or a ghost. It’s being compared to The Others, though I’m sure that when Aronofsky’s done with it, Black Swan will bear absolutely no resemblance to anything other than an Aronofsky movie. Being different is his thing.