Darren Aronofsky seems to have a thing for movies about sweaty, shirtless men trying to beat the living bejesus out of each other in the comfy confines of a ring. With his “The Fighter” boxing movie snatching up A-list stars like Mark Wahlberg and Brad Pitt, Aronofsky has found his muse for his other ring movie, “The Wrestler”. It’s none other than Mickey Rourke, Marv from “Sin City”. According to Variety, Rourke would play the character Randy “The Ram” Robinson,” an over-the-hill wrestler who returns to the ring for one last shot at glory. The role was earlier attached to Nicolas Cage, but it appears he’s since left the ring.

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Aronofsky and Robert Siegel wrote the script for “The Wrestler,” about an over-the-hill grappler who returns to the ring for one last shot at glory.

Rourke, who once took time away from his screen career to become a boxer, has been enjoying a film resurgence that began with “Man on Fire” and “Sin City.” He wrapped the John Madden-directed “Killshot,” and is currently starring in the ensemble of “The Informers,” a Gregor Jordan-directed adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel.

IMDB.com has “The Fighter” and “The Wrestler” listed as 2009 productions, but since “The Fighter” has been picking up steam lately with the casting of Pitt and Wahlberg, one would assume it has the better change of going into production and getting released first.

“The Wrestler”, meanwhile, is more of an indie movie for Aronofsky. The casting of a non-bankable Mickey Rourke in the lead would seem to indicate that. Let’s hope his recent stint in a Florida jail while riding a scooter while intoxicated won’t spoil his new role. Oh what am I talking about. It’ll probably help!