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Following the recent Ain't It Cool report that Universal, desperate to find a director willing to step in on incredibly short notice to replace the recently departed Mark Romanek on The Wolf Man, had already decided that Brett Ratner was the hacky Messiah who could deliver them to the On-Time And Near-Budget Promised Land, comes word that the studio is still performing its due diligence by meeting with other candidates who might not be scared off by having to work with the strike-locked script Romanek developed. Among those THR says Universal is considering for the gig: Frank Darabont, James Mangold, Joe "Hidalgo" Johnston and Bill "Dreamgirls" Condon (!). Even with this report, Ratner still seems like the obvious choice, as he's previously proven he's unafraid to jettison a screenplay the moment it interferes with his blockbuster-making vision. [THR]