Hugh Jackman is insanely ripped in the first official photo from The Wolverine

The Wolverine has unleashed its first official still, which shows off the movie's key selling point: an insanely ripped Hugh Jackman.

The sequel to X-prequel X-Men Origins: Wolverine , this one promises to be a leaner, tougher affair than Logan’s disappointing first solo outing, stripping back the clutter to focus on one of the most popular periods in the character’s comic-book history: the time he spent training in Japan in Chris Claremont and Frank Miller’s ‘80s run.

Yep, if you can tear your eyes away from Jackman’s glistening, marble abs and lightning-strike veins, you can see just a hint of that oriental set design hovering in the background.

Jackman’s joined by a largely Japanese cast, as well as Korean-American actor Will Yun Lee as Kenuichio Harada (AKA the Silver Samurai).

James Mangold is in the director’s chair, after Darren Aronofsky dropped out early on.

The Wolverine
is set to open in summer 2013.

Check out the image in full below:

[ Click on the photo to see it in hi-res ]

Follow the film’s official Facebook and Twitter pages.

Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.