For those of us who didn’t exactly fall in love with X-Men Origins: Wolverine there’s hope on the horizon for its anticipated follow-up, The Wolverine. Actor Hugh Jackman, who has played the carnal Canuck in all of the mutant’s big screen outings, says the film won’t be a direct sequel but will instead feel like its own movie.
In an interview with Total Film magazine, Jackman was asked where the movie will fit into the landscape of the other X-Men films.
“We’ve deliberately not called it Wolverine 2 because we want it to be placed and feel like a standalone picture. With an all-new cast and setting it in Japan, it’s going to give us a whole new visual aesthetic. The approach to character means we won’t be overloaded with mutants and teams and the like, so it’ll be more character-based. I think in many ways it will feel like a completely different X-Men film.”
Based on the critically-acclaimed comic book series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, The Wolverine sees Logan travel to Japan and learn the ways of the samurai while becoming involved in a forbidden romance.
As a longtime fan of the Claremont and Miller comic series, Jackman’s statement alone has made me more excited for the film. It’s great source material but requires a different approach than the other installments in the X-Men film franchise.
Set to hit theaters on July 26, 2013, the film will be directed by James Mangold and co-stars Will Yun Lee, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hal Yamanouchi, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima and Brian Tee.
Have you read the comic series? How do you think The Wolverine is shaping up? Let us know in the comments.
