Hugh Jackman Talks Wolverine, First Class 2 & X-Men 4

Jackman still has a lot of love for Wolverine even though he's been playing him for ten plus years and soon to be five films. While talking to ThePlaylist he gives the impression he has a couple more films in him and wants to finally get the character right in The Wolverine. Unsurprisingly he states he doesn't believe we'll be seeing an X-Men 4 but doesn't count out showing up in X-Men First Class 2.

“I don’t see it. I can only see one movie ahead,” he said deflating hopes of a 4th “X-Men” film, despite talk in recent years by the producers of making one more. “I’m pretty sure I’m well into the second half of this match. I don’t know exactly when the end is, but I only go one at a time. If this is the last one, fingers crossed, man, I just hope we finally get that hole in one.” 

 So might Jackman pop up in a ‘First Class’ sequel? “If they come up with as good of an idea as last time,” Jackman says with a big smile, “Yeah, I could see it.”

I'm a bit skeptical about how the The Wolverine will turn out without Darren Aronofsky. It's odd that both Lauren Shuler Donner and Hugh Jackman producers on the last film have said they were unhappy with it's outcome. Odd since they made the creative decisions and allowed Fox executives to mettle with the production. I'll wait for the trailer before I start condemning but they have a lot making up to do for Wolverine fans. I'm all for more Wolverine but if they mess up Frank Miller's story they really will have lost me. On the other hand I'd rather see Jackman show up in First Class 2 as a pre-Weapon X Wolverine than watch a mess that X-Men 4 would certainly be. They could erase that magic bullet nonsense with Xavier just wiping his mind. Since the studio has established that First Class has it's own X-Men canon.

Lauren Shuler Donner Talks Deadpool, The Wolverine & First Class 2

If Kevin Feige is the face of Marvel Studios then producer Lauren Shuler Donner is the face of Fox's X-Men franchise. Lauren is responsible for producing X-Men 1-3, X-Men Origins and First Class. I have to commend her on finally giving us a solid X-Men film (First Class) after such a long wait since X2. Fox and Lauren finally took the material somewhat seriously and delivered a solid film rather than a cash-in mutant cameo orgy. She's been making the rounds talking up future projects which includes Deadpool, The Wolverine and a sequel to X-Men First Class.

First Lauren talks to CinemaBlend and TotalFilm about an R-rated Deadpool and director Tim Miller.

"If we make the movie it needs to be a rated R film. Otherwise you can’t make it. As for Tim, most of the advertisements for the games you play, everybody plays, he does those. He’s just…it would give it a very different look, a very different feel, which would be totally appropriate for Deadpool. Again, I don’t want people to feel like they’ve seen these movies before. Every movie has to have its own identity, and he will bring a whole different visual style to it. Very different visual style. And he’s funny! He fits right into that world. He fits right in. He’s perfect." 

"We have a few more things to do. And then it’s up to the studio to decide whether we’re going to go forward or not… But I’m pretty excited. We have a good script and a good director [Tim Miller].....Yes he was treated totally wrong in the Wolverine film and yes we will redeem him."
 
She also talked to CinemaBlend and HitFix about director James Mangold who recently landed the gig for The Wolverine. The film has been rumored to have been pushed back to a Spring/Summer 2012 shoot to work around Hugh Jackman's other films.

"I really liked Walk The Line and I really liked Girl Interrupted and I really liked 3:10 To Yuma. For me there’s three things that I look for. One thing is performance, because really it’s all about characters, even in action movies. Two is a look, you know, visual, because we have to have a style. Three is the ability to handle action and certainly with 3:10 To Yuma you could see that and he’s very experienced. I think we lucked out."

"[We want] to distinguish it from the other one… It’s much more of a standalone [movie]… I’m not sure when we’ll start. Maybe summer 2012 we’ll start shooting. It’s based on Hugh’s schedule, frankly. When he’s available, we’ll film. …He’s doing ‘Les Miserables’, and then he has to come and train for us. So it’s all dependent on him."

Talking to CraveOnline Donner also gives a couple updates on a First Class sequel. Along with her response via HomeMediaMagazine about bringing in Cyclops and Jean Grey for the next film.

"Well, if we were going to sequelize this and keep on going, we would stay in the next [time] period. Probably we’d go to the 70’s."

[on Cyclops and Jean for First Class 2]..."Maybe. Let's just say, I hope so."

"Yes. I mean that movie was a very strenuous movie so Matthew and everybody took some time off. Now we’re back and regrouping and kicking around some ideas. I think we just need to come up with a really good story and see where that leads us. If we could, great, if not, I think the story itself is what is most important."
 

The Wolverine Gets Rewrites & Viper Gets Bigger Role

The production for The Wolverine has seen some bumps in the road. First, director Darren Aronofsky who was originally going to helm the film jumped ship. Not too far after the terrible tragedy that effected most of Japan where most of the shooting was expected to take place. James Mangold (Knight & Day, Walk The Line) took the directing gig and there has been some progress even with the fall shoot being bumped until the spring.

Variety reports that Christopher McQuarrie's script is going see rewrites from Mark Bomback (Total Recall, Live Free & Die Hard). Bomback also did rewrites for Bryan Singer's Jack The Giant Killer another script that McQuarrie worked on. They also say that the role of Viper has been expanded which is likely to be another of the film's villains as she was an ally of Silver Samurai in the comics. Viper is also known as the Captain America villain Madame Hydra so it will be interesting to see Fox's take on the character.

James Mangold Will Direct The Wolverine

20th Century Fox has finally chosen a director to replace Darren Aronofsky. Deadline reports that James Mangold (Walk The Line) has nabbed the director's chair and will start production on The Wolverine in the fall. Hopefully this means that the studio still plans on shooting on location in Japan.

Mangold wasn't my favorite choice out of the recent group of candidates but he isn't a bad one either. He's no stranger to action films with his previous work on 3:10 To Yuma and Knight & Day. He does have a visual edge to his movies so with a solid script from Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects) I have no doubt he can improve on the last Wolverine film. It's expected that The Wolverine will be it's own film ignoring the events of X-Men: Wolverine Origins. More than anything focusing on the raw source material that Frank Miller wrote.

Directors Out Of The Running For The Wolverine?

It looks like Fox has had quite a mess on their hands since Darren Aronofsky exited The Wolverine. The promising film written by Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects, Valkyrie) and based on Frank Miller Japanese saga hasn't had much traction since. The studio still aimed at shooting on location in Japan seems to have been waiting to see how the recovery was going before proceeding with the production. Pausing the production date doesn't seem to be a problem but finding a new director however is. 

Recently it was reported that the studio had a list of hopeful directors that included Duncan Jones (rumored), Jose Padilha (Elite Squad 1-2, Robocop), Doug Liman (Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, All You Need Is Kill), Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Brooklyn's Finest), Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo, Never Let Me Go), Justin Lin (Fast Five, Highlander, Terminator 5), Gavin O’Connor (Warrior), James Mangold (Cop Land, Knight & Day, 3:10 To Yuma, Walk The Line) and Gary Shore.

Mark Romanek, Doug Liman and Antonie Fuqua have seemingly taken themselves out of the running.  Romanek states "That's just one of those stories that floated around. I was on their list, I received the script months ago. It didn't seem like my kind of thing...That script was a terrific version of that kind of thing, but not something I felt really passionate about." While Liman (Luna) and Fuqua (South Paw) are pursing other projects.

Jones had been the most promising name linked and confirmed meeting with the studio out of politeness. Jones has been trying to get money together for Mute and his Blade Runner homage. So it's likely he's been talking with major studios like Fox to get the films financed. Justin Lin is also linked for the film but has a three projects currently in development which includes Terminator 5, Fast Six and Highlander.So it looks like the only current directors in the running are Jose Padilha, Gavin O'Connor, James Mangold and Gary Shore.

8 Directors In The Running For The Wolverine

ShowBlitz is reporting that 20th Century Fox is circling eight directors for The Wolverine. It originally had Darren Aronofsky set to direct with a script by Christopher McQuarrie. The directors include Jose Padilha (Elite Squad 1-2, Robocop), Doug Liman (Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, All You Need Is Kill), Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Brooklyn's Finest), Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo, Never Let Me Go), Justin Lin (Fast Five, Highlander, Terminator 5), Gavin O’Connor (Warrior), James Mangold (Cop Land, Knight & Day, 3:10 To Yuma, Walk The Line) and Gary Shore.


My favorites of this group includes Mark Romanek, Jose Padilha, Gavin O'Connor, James Mangold and Antoine Fuqua. The likes of Lin and Liman sort of worries me as these two aren't strong visually and aren't as well liked as some of the other candidates. Even more so when compared to the likes of Aronofsky and the rumored Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code). I'd love to see Romanek take on a big genre film as he was originally set to make The Wolf Man before walking and forcing Universal to rush the project.

Duncan Jones Confirms Talks With Fox To Direct Wolverine

AICN has confirmation from a source that during a Source Code question and answer period the young director confirms talks with the studio to helm The Wolverine. Duncan gave the impression he'd rather make another one of his original science fiction films but took the meeting to weigh his options and to be polite. Currently there are conflicting reports on when The Wolverine will start production. I've heard the film could start shooting as early as July but some trades have mentioned November. They could be confused as the projected release date has been aimed at November 2012.

Jones is having trouble financing his science fiction thriller Mute. Which is set in a futuristic Berlin when a mute bartender's girlfriend is kidnapped. I would assume that if he made a deal with Fox they could end up financing Mute in return for his directing services on The Wolverine. Fox made a similar deal with Darren Aronofsky that I expect is still valid even though he's left Wolverine. A deal with Fox Searchlight could be a great career move for Jones as he would be able to make his original films with the backing of a studio who appreciates independent filmmakers.

Duncan Jones Could Direct The Wolverine

Deadline has a new report that Universal has offered the Huntsman role to Hugh Jackman in Snow White & The Huntsman. The only catch would be that he'd have to choose to do this over The Wolverine. I wouldn't be shocked this being a tactic by Jackman to light a fire under the seat of 20th Century Fox who have yet to pick a director to replace Darren Aronofsky. The article mentions that the studio is currently looking at Duncan Jones (Source Code) and David Slade (30 Days of Night.

Slade seems like a reasonable choice as he was in the initial group of directing candidates but has since been attached to Daredevil. I'm curious to see if he drops Daredevil to focus on The Wolverine which would take up a considerable amount of his time with the projected November 2012 release date. While David has been tagged for directing a Twilight film he's made some awesome films such as Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night. I didn't care for the look of the vampires in 30 Days of Night but it seemed like a faithful film to the comics which should ease reservations of X-Men fans.

Duncan Jones on the other hand might be as creditable as Aronofsky. Jackman previous stated they would be looking at directors similar to Aronofsky. Jones seems like the most applicable to Darren with auteur sensibilities while being able to work on a grand scale with a limited budget. His first film Moon was a stellar homage to work of Ridley Scott but being it's on monster and a great addition to the science fiction genre. Duncan isn't new to being offered big studio genre projects. He previous was in talks for the Superman and Judge Dredd reboots. Along with being a fan favorite to take over directing duties from Jon Favreau on Iron Man 3. Jones has been trying hard to get his speechless thriller Mute made and I'm sure there could be a possibility Fox would fund the film if he directs The Wolverine. I'd personally take Jones over Slade only because I've felt his films have a stronger emotional connection which would be needed for the dramatic script written by Christopher McQuarrie (Jack The Giant Killer, Usual Suspects)

Hugh Jackman Confirms The Wolverine Moving Forward

SuperheroHype and CinemaBlend were able to speak with Hugh Jackman during some early promotion for Real Steel at CinemaCon. The actor/producer of The Wolverine commented on the film and their search for a director. He also gives the impression Fox is currently still looking into when they can start shooting in Japan. The majority of the film is expected to shoot in the country.

"So now we’re out looking for a director. We were pretty much ready to go. The script is fantastic — the best we’ve ever had, which is why it attracted Darren in the first place. His personal situation precludes him from doing it now, and I feel for him. But now we need to find a director.....We’re not going to settle. We’re going to find a director as good as Darren, if not better. Well, as good. Everyone is still pushing forward to getting it done."


"We need to find another director and once we've found that, we'll be able to know. It's too early to call on Japan [where the majority of filming will take place], I'm not sure where they're at, so now we're finding another director....Fox is very anxious to make the movie and we're moving ahead full steam to find another director."

Producer Lauren Shulder Donner also recently commented on the film during her interview with Empire Magazine. Giving the impression it will be a true Wolverine film and there won't be forced mutant cameos.


"It will have depth and a dramatic backbone. And yet there's more action in this one than in any one we've ever done. It's such a good script. We have the great Christopher McQuarrie writing and it's very true to the Japanese saga. This is Logan on his own..."

I think it would be a great boost for the film industry over there to have a production like The Wolverine shot there. Hopefully his talk of a director as good as Aronofsky isn't just lip-service as many fans are under the impression that Darren left over creative issues. If they do look into directors like Matt Reeves and Duncan Jones I'd be happy. The statement of a director as good as Darren would give me the idea that David Fincher or someone on his level could be looked into.

Darren Aronofsky Exits The Wolverine

HollywoodReporter has the official press release from 20th Century Fox concerning director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) leaving the The Wolverine. Darren sited personal reasons as the production would spend close to a year in Japan and away from his son. Even with the disaster over in Japan the studio is still moving forward with the film shooting a majority of it on location there.

It's a testament to the commitment both the studio and Hugh Jackman have to the movie being shoot in Japan. As many studios might be scared off to start new productions there during the recovery effort. It's interesting they haven't named a new director but it would have to be named soon as the production is set for July with a November-December 2012 release date pending. A recent casting call-sheet for the film was released online so they must someone replace Darren.


My choice to take on the film would be Matt Reeves who is best known for Cloverfield and more recently Let Me In. Reeves had been in the running to take the director's chair before Aronofsky was hired. I assume it's very possible as Reeves has yet to announce his next film and seems like he could jump right in if Fox decides to go with him. David Slade who was also a candidate was just selected to direct their Daredevil reboot so he's likely now out of the running. The real wild card would be if Matthew Vaughn is offered the film as Bryan Singer is busy with Jack The Giant Killer. Vaughn has also yet to announce his next film and will be finished with X-Men First Class come July. I'm sure the studio will announce a new director very soon as they must have a backup.

Monsters' Scoot McNairy Lands Role In Big Superhero Film?

While Monsters director Gareth Edwards has gone on to helm Legendary Pictures' Godzilla reboot. There hasn't been much talk of big roles for the cast of the sci-fi indie. The film's male lead Scoot McNairy has mentioned to TotalFilm that he is indeed been cast in a large superhero film. He and his publicist don't mention the project but there are lots going into production soon. Let the speculation begin!

The three big ones include Joss Whedon's Avengers, Dark Knight Rises and Zack Snyder's Superman: Man of Steel. The other large scale superhero productions that are starting up soon include Darren Aronofsky's The Wolverine, Edgar Wright's Ant-Man and Tony Scott's Nemesis. I think McNairy would make an excellent Jimmy Olsen in the new Superman.

CAST 'EM!: Darren Aronofsky's The Wolverine

 Darren Aronofsky was finally announced as the director of The Wolverine this week. The film based on the Japanese saga from Frank Miller and Chris Claremont has been adapted by screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie. Just a couple of days ago Darren confirmed that he would be casting Japanese actors in the film. Notice he's not hiring Asian-American actors to blanket the roles. There is speculation that the film will even involve subtitles with Japanese spoken which is beyond ballsy for Fox to allow. Since this film will have zero links to other X-Men and will be entirely set in Japan. I've come up with my list of Japanese actors I'd like to see cast in roles. I'm using the character information from both the comics and the character list that leaked.

Hiroyuki Sanada as Kenuichio/Silver Samurai

Chiaki Kuriyama as Yuriko

 Takeshi Kitano as Shingen












Rinko Kikuchi as Mariko

Darren Aronofsky Confirmed For The Wolverine!!

HitFix (via CBM) has confirmation from Darren Aronofsky that he is indeed directing Wolverine 2 now titled just The Wolverine. He goes on to state the film has no ties to the other film (hence no Origins/X-Men in the title) and isn't a straight up sequel. Also there is talk that Darren's longtime cinematographer Matthew Libatique will also be working on the film. Libatique is known for his beyond stylish way of shooting. He's shot such amazing looking films like Pi, Requiem For A Dream, The Fountain, Black Swan, Tigerland, Iron Man 1-2 and Cowboys & Aliens. There is a certain confidence this film along with First Class could help turn around the tarnished X-Men franchises.

"The film that he's directing is officially called "The Wolverine," and there won't be a number attached to it. In our interview, he referred to the movie as a "one-off," and he emphasized that the film isn't a sequel in any conventional sense."