Maggie Q as Yukio...
Why She’s Perfect: A sword-swinging assassin, Yukio is a total wildcard, with scant concern for her own life so long as she takes down her target. Nursing something of a soft spot for old Wolvie, she finds herself in a quandary when her Yakuza employer Lord Shingen singles him out as her next assignment.
Currently starring as a similarly skilled assassin on small-screen action update Nikita , Maggie Q has the perfect balance of athleticism, menace and sex appeal to make this one her own. And before you start beating us round the head with it, we’re aware that unlike the character she’s of Vietnamese rather than Japanese descent. However, we’ve had Chinese actresses play Japanese people in the past (see Zhang Ziyi in Memoirs of a Geisha ), so as long as the part seems a good fit, we’re all for it. We’ve got an Australian Wolverine after all…
Essential Scene: A claws-and-all dust-up with Wolverine, before she’s even uttered a word on screen. She gave Bruce Willis a good shoeing in Die Hard 4 , so we’re backing her to hold her own.
But if Q can’t do it…
Chiaki Kuriyama as Yukio...
Why She’s Perfect: Despite eventually siding with our metal-boned hero, Yukio has to make for a worthy adversary as a villain first. And there haven’t been many more disturbing villains in recent years than Kuriyama’s turn as deranged schoolgirl GoGo Yubari in Kill Bill .
Kuriyama hasn’t quite managed the Stateside crossover since that film, but we think its high time Western audiences got to see a bit more of her. She might not get to twirl a meteor hammer this time around, but we reckon she’d still be able to give Logan a run for his money.
Essential Scene: Hmm, how to get her back into that school uniform. Don’t worry, we’ll think of something…
But if Kuriyama can’t do it…
Jamie Chung as Yukio...
Why She’s Perfect: Who? Ah well, when you’ve got the knowledge of obscure Asian cinema that we have…no, alright then, she’s actually a California-born starlet, last seen popping up in Adam Sandler’s Grown Ups . However, she’s got more than half-baked chuckles in her locker, with the lead role in TV’s Samurai Girl showing off some nifty swordsmanship.
Having also starred in the frenetic Dragonball Evolution , and with Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch also on the horizon, Chung looks set to become a bona fide action star, and one well worthy of taking on Hollywood’s most famous claws.
Essential Scene: A cameo from Sandler, in which the funnyman is beheaded by Chung as payback for having involved her in the car-wreck that was I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry.
But if Chung can’t do it…
Devon Aoki as Yukio...
Why She’s Perfect: Aoki’s kick-ass bad-girl routine might not be to everyone’s taste, but she’s certainly got the right look for Yukio, and if the woeful Dead or Alive taught us anything, it’s that she knows her way around a samurai sword.
Aoki is 28, but looks younger, and we get the feeling that Yukio’s devil-may-care attitude to her own safety would sit quite nicely on her shoulders. She permanently looks as though she’s in a strop, so she could do scowling villain in her sleep, surely?
Essential Scene: A stylised, Sin City -esque swordfight, replete with ribbons of luminous red gore. Wolverine’s Japanese arc was co-written by Frank Miller after all.
But if Aoki can’t do it…
Bai Ling as Yukio...
Why She’s Perfect: The sort of actress you half-recognise from one of her long list of Hollywood credits, without quite being able to put a name to the face. Last seen playing a mouthy hooker in the deliriously stupid Crank 2 , she’s often relegated to bit-parts that don’t really do her justice as a performer.
Witness her thoroughly disturbing turn in Asian horror flick Three Extremes and you’ll soon realise she’s got far more to offer than window dressing for the Stath. Swap that girly-girl fringe for a skinhead and we could have a genuinely hard-boiled assassin on our hands.
Essential Scene: Yukio’s weapon of choice in the comics is a set of razor-like shuriken. We want a proper adult adaptation, so even if they end up kitting her out with a sword, there needs to be at least one scene in which some luckless chap gets cut to ribbons by her throwing stars.
But if Ling can’t do it…
Zhang Ziyi as Yukio...
Why She’s Perfect: We’re anticipating a more up-and-coming choice for Yukio, but if Marvel decide to go down the tried-and-tested route, they couldn’t do much better than casting Zhang Ziyi.
She’s got the disinterested scowl down-pat, just what you need if you’re a heartless assassin with no regard for your own life! Plus, we all know what she can do when it comes to knocking seven bells out of people. Imagine how she could go to town on someone with mutant powers of recovery? The long good punch-up indeed…
Essential Scene: A fight scene in which she doesn’t inexplicably start flying, a la Crouching Tiger . This is an X-Men movie after all…let’s keep it believable!
Rinko Kukuchi as Mariko Yashida...
Why She’s Perfect: The gorgeous daughter of a ruthless crime lord, Mariko is just the sort of love interest old Wolvie would find himself mixed up with. He just can’t make it easy on himself can he? Anyhow, as well as being a bit of a looker, whoever plays Mariko has to be a tough cookie, given that the character eventually becomes the head of one of Japan’s hardest Yakuza families.
Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi has definitely got the looks, but it’s her stunning turn in Babel that’s really got us convinced she could bring some serious dramatic clout to the role. Mariko is caught in that age-old dilemma of choosing between her old man and her new fella. The ability to do relationship angst is an absolute must.
Essential Scene: A delicate sex-scene with Logan. Note that we said delicate, rather than rampant. The whole point of Mariko is that she brings out the human over the animal.
But if Kikuchi can’t do it…
Tang Wei as Mariko Yashida...
Why She’s Perfect: Wei might not be a household name as yet, but she’s definitely on the right track. She absolutely stole the show in Ang Lee’s brilliant Lust, Caution managing to juggle the attention-grabbing sex-scenes with a generous helping of emotional turmoil.
Her character in that film was leading a double-life, and Mariko is similarly torn between her corrupt family and heroic new beau. If Wei can bring the same combo of sexual allure and moral confusion to this role, we could have a much more stimulating character than all of the first film’s two-dimensional ciphers put together.
Essential Scene: We want to see Wei putting all the bedroom tricks she learned in Lust, Caution to good use here! Well, maybe not all of them. It’s only a 2 hour film…
But if Wei can’t do it…
Gong Li as Mariko Yashida...
Why She’s Perfect: Miami Vice star Gong Li looks every inch the statuesque beauty from the comics, and although she might be a shade older than the other two girls, she doesn’t look it.
She was probably the best thing in Michael Mann’s ponderous crime clunker, and also impressed in Memoirs of a Geisha as the scheming Hatsumomo. Despite her obvious beauty, she’s pretty adept at steely determination as well, and her Mariko would be no simpering pushover.
Essential Scene: A candlelit meal with Logan during which she orders the blowfish. One for the fanboys there…
But if Li can’t do it…
Yunjim Kim as Mariko Yashida...
Why She’s Perfect: Marvel might fear that Korean actress Kim is too firmly associated with Lost to really make the character her own, but in fact, her turn as Sun pretty much showcased all the required elements to make for a good Mariko.
In the TV show her character is the daughter of a corrupt and violent patriarch, falls desperately in love with a man who becomes a family enemy, and shows an icy desire for revenge when she goes after Charles Widmore. In fact, has JJ Abrams been pinching ideas from Wolverine? Either way, she looks a pretty good fit to us.
Essential Scene: A stuffed polar bear is spotted within her boudoir causing Lostpedia to crash under sheer volume of hits on the film’s first day of release.
But if Kim can’t do it…
Grace Park as Mariko Yashida...
Why She’s Perfect: Park’s credits have been largely confined to the small screen thus far, but after five years of sterling work in the excellent Battlestar Gallactica , we reckon it’s time she made the step up to the movies.
With appearances in Stargate , Dark Angel and, ahem, Hawaii Five-0 also under her belt, she comes with a ready made audience of fanboys, and certainly shares Mariko’s delicate poise and beauty. If Marvel go for a lesser-known star, they could do a lot worse.
Essential Scene: An unflinching portrayal of her beating at the hands of a rival Yakuza boss should mark Wolverine 2 out as a far more adult adventure than its predecessor.
Ken Watanabe as Lord Shingen...
Why He’s Perfect: Its safe to say Lord Shingen is a bit of a wrong’un. Father to Mariko, and head of the notorious Yashida Clan, he brought shame on his family by turning it into a criminal enterprise. Not only that, but he forced Mariko into the arms of an abusive mob rival, a move that originally put him at odds with Wolverine.
He’s a pretty handy fighter too, which is why Inception ’s Ken Watanabe springs to mind. Oozing with charisma, he’s also a dab hand with a sword (see The Last Samurai for evidence) and would make for a cracking villain.
Essential Scene: Shingen nods off, only to find himself taking on Wolverine within a dream. Or is he? On second thoughts, maybe not…
But if Watanabe can’t do it…
Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Shingen...
Why He’s Perfect: Another Lost alumnus (although one who was woefully underused), Sanada appeared with Watanabe in The Last Samurai , and could be a good alternative if Marvel opt for a less recognisable actor.
Shingen may be handy with a sword, but many of his tussles with Wolverine revolve around deception. Sanada can do both brute force and subtle menace, so whichever way the studio decide to take the character, he’s got it covered.
Essential Scene: We’d like to see a combination of Shingen’s cunning and strength by including the scene in which he weakens Wolverine with poison, before giving him a sound thrashing in a public duel. How d’ya like them apples, Bub?
But if Sanada can’t do it…
Chow Yun-Fat as Lord Shingen...
Why He’s Perfect: Unlikely it may be, but we’d like to see Chow dust himself off after the Pirates debacle with a spot of good old-fashioned villainy. He might have started to cultivate the look of an avuncular old buffer in recent years, but that might make him all the more effective as a bona fide bad egg.
He’s got more than enough left in the tank to give Hugh Jackman the runaround, and as stunt-casting goes, he’d be a significant step up from Will.I.Am.
Essential Scene: A Hard Boiled referencing shoot-out, with Chow on the other side of the law this time around.
But if Yun-Fat can’t do it…
Gordon Liu as Lord Shingen...
Why He’s Perfect: If Chow Yun-Fat is unlikely, we’re probably in fantasy land here, but we still reckon the man behind Kill Bill ’s Pai Mei would make for an excellent boo-hiss villain.
Obviously we’d want the beard-stroking and maniacal laughter kept to a minimum, but presuming he could manage that, he could inject Shingen with a genuinely unsettling malevolence. He’s just a really creepy bloke isn’t he?
Essential Scene: We can see Liu capturing the washed-up desperation of a man clinging on to his empire perfectly, so the scene where he realises Wolverine has got him beat would be a winner.
Tadanobu Asano as Silver Samurai...
Why He’s Perfect: Mariko isn’t Shingen’s only offspring. He also sired an illegitimate mutant son, known as the Silver Samurai on account of his psionically-charged sword that can cut through pretty much anything. Anything except adamantium that is…
An ultra-violent mercenary, we’d love to see the Samurai cast as an absolute wack-job, which is why we can’t think of anyone better than Ichi The Killer star Tadanobu Asano. Imagine Wolverine taking on a sadistic loon wielding the most powerful sword known to man…it’d be pretty good, basically.
Essential Scene: The Samurai is introduced in a face-slicing orgy of blood. Maybe they could rope in Takeshi Miike to guest-direct it…
But if Asano can’t do it…
Rain as Silver Samurai...
Why He’s Perfect: The star of barmy splatter-fest Ninja Assassin , Korean actor Rain has all the requisite blade-twirling skills required to play the role. Also, the fact that the Samurai will likely spend most of the film masked lends the part nicely to a lesser known actor.
Marvel might see him as a bit of a gamble, but the main selection criteria should be sword-handling ability, and in that, Rain has already showed he can excel.
Essential Scene: A Kill Bill -esque showdown in which the Samurai reduces a horde of Yakuza goons to a pile of indeterminate body parts.
But if Rain can’t do it…
Rick Yune as Silver Samurai...
Why He’s Perfect: The other two choices are fairly slight, so for a more muscular Samurai, what about Rick Yune? He’s got the physique, and he too showed he’s familiar with a blade in Ninja Assassin .
So what if his acting is occasionally a little bit clunky? As we’ve mentioned before, his inclusion will mainly be action-based, so as long as he knows how to handle himself, he can play the Silver Samurai.
Essential Scene: A touching reconciliation with his long-lost half-sister Mariko. And then some more limb-lopping.
Naomi Rapace as Viper...
Why She’s Perfect: A European professional terrorist, motivated by a profound sense of nihilism, athletically built and handy in a scrap…who better than Naomi Rapace to take this one on?
Imagine if Lisbeth Salander went bad? Well, more bad then she is already…oh, you know what we mean! It’d be a terrifying proposition in any case. Sadly, Rapace seems fairly reluctant to branch into mainstream Hollywood, so a super-hero movie is unlikely to change her mind. However, If Marvel pulled it off, it would be a real coup…
Essential Scene: A Joker-esque manoeuvre in which she makes Wolvie choose between saving Mariko or a busload of civilians. The mutant follows his heart, whilst the humans go up in flames…
But if Rapace can’t do it…
Olga Kurylenko as Viper...
Why She's Perfect: It would have to be a completely different take on the character than if Rapace were cast, but that’s not to say it wouldn’t work. Viper is portrayed in the comics as something of a seductress, with the Silver Samurai one of many to fall for her charms.
Kurylenko has Eastern European allure by the bucket-load, and it would be a nice change to see her playing the villain, rather than the doe-eyed love-interest. We’ve also got a sneaking suspicion she’s more than athletic enough to kick some mutant arse…
Essential Scene: A counterpoint to a blood-soaked Silver Samurai action scene in which she has the gore-spattered warrior eating out of her hand.
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine...
Why He’s Perfect: He’s not, in many people’s book (largely on the grounds that he’s too tall and not Canadian), but he’s the one we’ve got, so there’s no point bellyaching about it.
In fairness to him, Jackman almost single-handedly got the X-Men movie franchise off the ground, and can hardly be blamed for the sense of diminishing returns that has accompanied the series ever since the X2 high-point. If Marvel tone it right, this trip to Japan could take the character away from the cartoonish excess of X-Men Origins , and back to the animal magnetism of the comics.
Essential Scene: We want to see his relationship with Mariko taken to the conclusion it reaches in the comics. Come on Marvel, let’s have a bit of bravery!
