Darren Aronofsky is one of my favorite filmmakers in the world, but even I balked a year or so ago when I heard that his next film would be the story of an aging professional wrestler.

I mean, sure, Requiem For a Dream wasn’t really groundbreaking in terms of its subject matter, either, but the theme of drug addiction allowed Aronofsky to let loose with some truly striking and surreal visual ideas – and the film turned out to be a masterpiece. But how, I wondered, could the spandex ‘n suplex crowd possibly hold any appeal for such a visionary filmmaker, especially since his last movie (2006’s glorious metaphysical sci-fi drama The Fountain) was essentially a huge-scale meditation on the nature of human existence itself?

Well, whatever drove Aronofsky to make The Wrestler, the trailer is now out, and let me just say one thing: it looks great (you can view it in beautiful HD here at Apple.com). Yes, it’s a much less ambitious movie than The Fountain, and no, the visuals probably aren’t going to blow anyone out of their seats, but the drama, humor, and most importantly, humanity on display within the few short minutes of the trailer lead me to believe that all those glowing early reviews weren’t just hype – this might end up being the best film of 2008. I mean, heck, Aronofsky’s pulled off some pretty amazing cinematic feats before, but actually making notorious sleazeball Mickey Rourke seem like a sweet, warmhearted guy? That takes a filmmaker of very, very significant talent.

So when this film finally comes out next month, I’ll be there. And when Aronofsky announces that his next movie will be about an aging roller derby queen (played by Rourke’s ex, Carre Otis) who straps on her skates for one last bone-crushing ride around the rink, I’ll be looking forward to it from the get-go.