Wolverine's Back
In May 2009 it was announced that Hugh Jackman's Seed Productions had started work on a sequel to the critically derided X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
The follow-up would be be inspired by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's 1982 Wolverine miniseries, which saw the master of mutants joins the master of ninjas in the character's first solo series - replete with romance, intrigue, and mayhem in Japan.
I'm Wolverine
Claremont's four-issue mini-series sees Wolverine goes to Japan to see the love of his life, Mariko Yashida - but she was forced to marry another man. To prove his love, Wolverine battles her father Lord Shingen but is badly beaten and thrown out on the streets.
He is saved by Yukio, only to discover she's an assassin… can she be trusted?
Jackman Heads To Japan
Fast forward to August and Hugh Jackman confirms that filming for the superhero sequel will take place in Japan.
He told MTV: "Japan is where we're heading, [and] we're starting to work on it now. We're in the ... first steps of developing that story."
Jackman added that he has "made no real secret" of the fact that the story arc is one of his favourites, adding: "I think the fans love that saga. It's my favourite saga of the Wolverine stories. That's a movie I've longed to make from the beginning, so that's where we're heading."
McQuarrie Hired
Writer of The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie, Jack Reacher and Jack The Giant Slayer Christopher McQuarrie was hired to pen the sequel after his extensive and uncredited work on the first X-Men with his Usual Suspects director Bryan Singer.
His script was endorsed by X-Men writer Chris Claremont, who paid tribute to McQuarrie telling Graphic NYC: "I like it very much. That's all I can say. Chris McQuarrie is brilliant."
The Official Synopsis
The film's official synopsis reads as follows: "Based on the celebrated comic book arc, The Wolverine finds Logan, the eternal warrior and outsider, in Japan.
"There, samurai steel will clash with adamantium claw as Logan confronts a mysterious figure from his past in an epic battle that will leave him forever changed.
"Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever seen him before."
Claremont Is King
In an interview with Latino review, Wolverine executive producer Lauren Schuler Donner has revealed that she'd like the franchise to follow the writing of legendary X-Men scribe Chris Claremont. She also confirmed that The Wolverine would stick closer to the plot of Claremont and Frank Miller’s 1982 miniseries than the first film did to comic book continuity.
Donner also spoke about the continuing future of the franchise, saying: "There's enough comic book material to support [a long-running series]," she said. "If we were to make up our own story, which we've never talked about, personally I would do it with Chris Claremont. I would stick with the creator.
"Chris is writing an amazing series right now (X-Men Forever) where Wolverine's killed, Storm is the villain. Sure, one day I'd love to [do] that."
Schreiber Wants Sabretooth Return
Following his appearance as Victor Creed/Sabretooth in the original movie, Liev Schreiber has admitted that he is unsure whether his character appears in future instalments of the story.
He took OK! in 2010: "I just had dinner with [Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine,] last night and Hugh read the first draft of the script and I was really excited about it.
"It's still not clear whether or not Victor will be present in the Japan storyline. In the Japan storyline as I remember it from the Wolverine comics, Victor wasn't there. So I don't know.
"Of course I've got my fingers crossed because I love the character so much. To have the chance to do it again would be a lot of fun, but I'm not sure."
T-Laut For Young Wolverine?
Following rumours that 20th Century Fox was considering casting Twilight star Taylor Lautner in an undisclosed role, Hugh Jackman threw his considerable weight behind the 18-year-old actor, championing him to play a young Logan.
The Wolverine star insisted that Lautner's experience with portraying part-wolf Jacob Black in the Twilight films makes him qualified for the Marvel Comic role, reported E Online.
"My only question is, can he grow mutton chops?" Jackman joked. "Actually, I think people would probably prefer him as a hairless Wolverine than a rather hairy-chested version. Certainly about a billion young girls would."
Desperately Seeking A Director
And as the hunt for a director began, the Twilight connection remained with reports that David Slade was one-time favourite for the project. The Time Traveller's Wife helmer Robert Schwentke was also apparently on Fox chief Tom Rothman's wish list, but ultimately Darren Aronofsky was signed for the project.
"[Aronofsky’s] going to make it fantastic," said Jackman at the time. "There’s going to be some meat on the bones. There will be something to think about as you leave the theatre, for sure."
"I've been trying to get Darren since X-Men 3, really," he told Entertainment Weekly. "We've been talking about this and Wolverine for so long.
"We had a meeting about three weeks ago, catching up as friends more than anything, and he just ran a few ideas by me and my eyes just lit up, because already I think this is like a whole new ballgame. Just the ideas, the level of depth, and intelligence, and creativity. I think he’s been waiting so long to do a movie in this genre. When he found the script, he said this is it. It’s really exciting."
Hugh Bulks Up
In an effort to get into shape, the 41-year-old Australian actor, began his workout regime in late 2010. Jackman told Woman's Day magazine: "For Wolverine I have to eat a lot more, train with a lot heavier weights and get my naturally leaner body a little bigger."
The actor also told Access Hollywood that he has had to entirely change the way he eats and exercises in order to bulk up for the superhero role.
"I'll be the one with four chicken breasts on my plate," he said. "It's hard training and a lot of eating. It sounds gluttonous, but it's really not. It's just kind of hard. Four chicken breasts at 10.30 in the morning with brown rice and steamed broccoli is not a lot of fun, let me tell you."
Big, But Not Big Enough
But despite being in impeccable shape, Jackman's physique still needed some work to satisfy Aronofsky.
The actor - who gained 20lbs, consuming up to 6,000 calories per day in order to bulk up - told the Los Angeles Times that director Darren Aronofsky felt that his character needs to put on weight to bring the story to life.
"Darren said with the last one, 'Hey you looked great, but you're so tall that in those long shots you looked kind of like Clint Eastwood, and that's not Wolverine'," he explained.
"He said that Wolverine, in the comics, is powerful, stocky - you know, he's short and thick. So he said, 'I want you to go there, get bigger'."
It's All Jackman
And it looks like the torturous diet regime did the job.
Following rumours that the actor's redonkulous body had been enhanced in a poster for the film, Jackman said that the image was the result of a gruelling exercise regime.
"That's all me, man," he revealed on The Jeff Probst Show, adding that he was annoyed that people thought it was a fake.
"Because it was brutal getting there. And by the way, I asked the company if they could just... you're spending millions on special effects, just help me out. I want to eat pizza and drink beer. And they said no. For that kind of body, I had to go up in weight, big, lift big and heavy, then strip down."
Aronofsky Goes AWOL
After only a few months attached to the project Darren Aronofsky has quit the director's chair in March 2011.
The Oscar-nominated director released a statement saying that he exited the blockbuster because it would have taken him away from his family for an extended period of time.
Aronofsky said: "As I talked more about the film with my collaborators at Fox, who have been totally supportive throughout my work on the movie, it became clear that the production of The Wolverine would keep me out of the country for almost a year.
"I was not comfortable being away from my family for that length of time. I am sad that I won't be able to see the project through, as it is a terrific script and I was very much looking forward to working with my friend Hugh Jackman again."
Fox assured fans that they were committed to the film, saying: "Hugh Jackman and Fox both remain fully committed to making The Wolverine. We will regroup and move forward aggressively."
Disastrous Delays
And later that month another disaster struck development on the new director-less movie as an earthquake and tsunami in Japan delayed the project from moving forward.
But Fox insisted that the natural disaster was unlikely to influence production as they were still on the hunt for a director.
"We were pretty much ready to go," Jackman told Entertainment Weekly. "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."
Desperately Seeking A Director Again
As the search for a replacement for Darren Aronofsky began in earnest, names mooted included David Slade, Duncan Jones Justin Lin, Doug Liman, Mark Romanek, Gary Shore, Antoine Fuqua, Jose Padilha… and, well, every director ever.
Oh, and a certain James Mangold.
"We need to find another director and once we've found that we'll be able to know," Jackman told Coming Soon when asked when the film is likely to resume production. "Fox is very anxious to make the movie and we're moving ahead full steam to find another director."
The Way Of The Samurai
With Mangold attached and production due to start around October 2011, it seemed only appropriate to reveal the film's villain.
Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con, Hugh Jackman announced that he would fight the Japanese mutant Kenuichio Harada - aka Silver Samurai, played by Will Yun Lee.
Jackman said: "Chris McQuarrie has written a fantastic script and it should turn out really good. I'll fight the Silver Samurai in it, so that should be exciting. Most of the filming will take place in Japan."
Introducing Silver Samurai
The illegitimate son of a Yakuza crime boss Kenuichio Harada is a mutant with the ability to charge his katana with tachyon energy, which can then cut through almost anything - except adamantium, fortunately for Wolvie.
As a self-styled samurai, he is a master of the katana, and a martial arts specialist in edged weapons, hand to hand combat, and throwing stars. His name derives from the silver suit he sports, based on traditional samurai armour.
Disastrous Delays Again
Despite looking like it was back on track, the project was pushed back once more in August 2011 due to Jackman's commitment to the big-screen version of Les Misérables.
Around the same time, Total Recall writer Mark Bomback was draft in to rewrite McQuarrie's script at James Mangold's request.
"When a director takes over any script, they need to make it their movie," Jackman told The Playlist. "So Jim hired Mark to help him make the movie his own. Darren had worked on the script himself and taken it in a certain direction that was right for him. And that would have been a great version of the movie.
"I've seen Jim's version now and, you know, Jim saw things that weren't working for him that were working for Darren. And I've got to hand it to Fox and to Jim, it's easy when you start with the best script we've had from Chris McQuarrie. Which is why Darren signed on. So once you have that, that's 80, 85% of your movie."
Wolvie's Women
In September 2011 Hugh Jackman revealed that The Wolverine would feature more female characters than previously seen in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
"This time, more than anything, I think we've really nailed down that character," he told Collider. "I think the audience and myself and the writers were like, 'Enough of the [missing] memory... I think we've explored that a lot.
"Now, it's this great backdrop of Japan, which is going to be fantastic for this character. It's a very rich source material with the comic book. And, there's more ladies in this movie, which is a nice change from the last one. It was very testosterone heavy."
The Big Biel Problem
Total Recall star Jessica Biel had originally signed on to appear as villainess Victoria - aka Marvel's famous femme fatale, villain Viper / Madam Hydra.
But according to reports, the actress got cold feet and when talks broke down, Fox began to consider others for the pivotal role…
Svetlana Khodchenkova Is Viper
Enter Russian actress Svetlana Khodchenkova.
"Certainly she's a villain, but for me to play the character I have to love the character," she told Collider of her role. "I have to realise why she's doing what she's doing, and obviously she has reasons for everything she does. I'm working a lot on that. I love the character."
And of her leading man, she said: "He's a really kind person, and he always cares about everyone. He'll come up and ask if you've had a good sleep, are you wearing sunblock. He's very nice. It's very great to work with him and everyone else."
Rila Fukushima Is Yukio
Newcomer Rila Fukushima takes on the role of ninja assassin Yukio, a character who already has an existing and complicated relationship with Logan.
"I think Yukio and Logan have a lot in common," she told Examiner. "Yukio has trouble in trying to find Logan and bringing him to Japan, that’s the first mission for Yukio and I think Logan… They understand, because they are both soldiers, lonely soldiers. She’s an assassin, so they care about each other.
"It’s a funny pairing, but she has a lot of confidence, so sometimes they can annoy each other or they’ll hate each other. It’s really fun. It’s a little funny."
Tao Okamoto Is Mariko
Completing Jackman's trio of leading ladies is Tao Okamoto, who makes her debut as Mariko Yashida - half sister to Kenuichio Harada and Wolverine's love interest.
"I think that the similarity I have with her is that she doesn’t have a normal life and I used to have a very difficult childhood," she told Collider of her character.
"I was struggling at the time and it’s a very different subject but still, she’s trying to find her place in her life. Meeting Logan later on, finding herself, what she wants to have in her life – I think I have a lot of similarity in my life."
The Cast
Rounding out the cast are Brian Tee as Japanese politician Nobu Mori, Hiroyuki Sanada as disgraced Yakuza crime boss 'Lord' Shingen Yashida (father to Mariko and Keniuchio), and Hal Yamanouchi as head of the Yashida clan.
Mangold posted this picture from the set online, tweeting: "Hiro Sanada and HJ rehearse clash of claws and blades. Hiro is a truly great actor, martial artist and friend."
Interesting Inspiration
According to the movie's star, we should expect to see an interesting influence. Hugh Jackman revealed that James Mangold has been inspired by a Western in the making of the film.
The actor said that Mangold had particularly looked at Clint Eastwood's 1976 movie The Outlaw Josey Wales to create his own version of The Wolverine.
He told Moviefone: "We had an image of this movie like The Outlaw Josey Wales, which I love.
"And he has a really great take on it. Yes, it's going to be different than Darren [Aronofsky]'s version, but I think it's going to be just as great from what I've seen. And he's doing his tweaks to what is already a very strong script."
A Unique Superhero Movie
In an interview with The Playlist, James Mangold revealed that the movie will have more in common with films like The Outlaw than others in the superhero genre.
"I think that this movie is much more an intense psychological and action-packed character piece, that's much more about Logan getting lost in this very unique and insulated world of Japanese culture, gangster culture and ninja culture.
"It's like a foreign-language superhero movie that's as much a drama and a detective story and a film noir, with high-octane action, as it is anything like a conventional tentpole film."
A Sequel With A Difference
Perhaps keen to distance The Wolverine from the previous instalment in the franchise, Jackman has described the story as "standalone".
Although the upcoming film follows on from 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine and occupies the same universe as the other X-Men instalments, Jackman explained that he and his fellow producers wanted it to feel complete in and of itself.
"We've deliberately not called it Wolverine 2 because we want it to be placed and feel like a standalone picture," he told Total Film. "With an all-new cast and setting it in Japan, it's going to give us a whole new visual aesthetic.
"Tonally, it's different from the other X-Men movies. It's got massive action sequences, as people would expect, and it'll be great fun."
R-Rated Temptations
It's quite possible that we'll see a darker, more adult version of the comic book hero in The Wolverine.
"There's such great temptation to make an R-rated Wolverine. I've always felt that, and I know a lot of fans would like that," Jackman told MTV News. "If there's ever going to be a superhero that is going to be R-rated, it's going to be Wolverine."
But that's not to say the film's younger fan base won't be considered. "You see it in their eyes. He's everything to them. You need to have a really good reason to exclude those fans," he added.
Character Focus
Jackman went on to say that The Wolverine will focus heavily on his character of Logan/Wolverine, and that this will prevent it from becoming too cluttered by other narratives.
"The approach to character means we won't be overloaded with mutants and teams and the like so it'll be more character-based," he told us. "I think in many ways it will feel like a completely different X-Men film.
"But it is a character-driven movie. It's about a guy completely out of his element, in this world that's foreign to him, and how he copes with that. I feel like we have the opportunity to deliver that badass, kick-ass Wolverine I know everybody wants to see."
Stick To The Source
In discussing his approach to the storyline with Entertainment Weekly, James Mangold revealed that The Wolverine is an "admiring adaptation" of Claremont and Miller's original comic arc.
"A lot of that story and a lot of beats from that saga are in there, and a lot of characters," Mangold revealed.
"I felt it was really important to find Logan at a moment where he was stripped clean of his duties to the X-Men, his other allegiances, and even stripped clean of his own sense of purpose. I was fascinated with the idea of portraying Logan as a ronin - the definition of which is a samurai without a master, without a purpose. Kind of a soldier who is cut loose.
"War is over. What does he do? What does he face? What does he believe anymore? Who are his friends? What is his reason for being here anymore? I think those questions are especially interesting when you're dealing with a character who is essentially immortal."
Jackman Returns To Oz
In April 2012 it was announced that the bulk of filming would take place in Hugh Jackman's home country. Jackman said in a statement: "I couldn't be more excited to return to Australia to film the next chapter in the Wolverine saga.
"It will be great to work with the highly talented crew and to provide employment opportunities to so many people across all levels of the industry. Not to mention, [wife] Deb and I will get to spend some time with the family back in Australia.
"I am so happy to be home. To be shooting a movie of this magnitude here at home is one of the great privileges I have had in my career."
Meanwhile, Fox CEO confirmed to MTV that location work would take place in Japan, saying: "It's set in Japan. A great number of Japanese actors will be in it and it's based on the very famous run of the comics... I can just tell you on behalf of [Jackman], his goal is to make the ultimate, bad ass, berserker rage Wolverine."
Get Ready To Go Beserker
Mangold has claimed that the film pulls no punches when it comes to depicting the character's trademark "berserker rage". The filmmaker promised a more "pissed-off" incarnation of Logan and said that his aim was to capture the "intensity" of Hugh Jackman's mutant anti-hero.
"The whole point is not about violence or rating; it's about intensity. I wanted to make a film that in a way captures the intensity of his character," he told MTV.
"One of the things that has always been a feature of Wolverine in the comics is that he has a berserker rage, that he has anger and some of his abilities are driven by something more primal.
"Honestly, to get really pissed off - not cute pissed off, not quippy pissed off, not funny pissed off or cigar-chomping pissed off, just pissed off - that can then help drive the fighting, drive the combat."
Action Abounds
Taking part in a Twitter Q&A, Hugh Jackman told fans that he's excited about the action.
"Because we had this incredible new canvas of Japan, we decided we could make action that was fresh and exciting and had never been seen before.
I'm just going to say two words - Bullet Train!"
New Mutants
Jackman has also revealed that we'll see something new from the X-verse in this instalment. Including new mutants.
"The thing I loved about this Wolverine was working with a brand new cast. We have some incredible Japanese actors," he said in a Twitter Q&A.
"There are new mutants, I don't want to give too much away, but in every way this movie's going to feel fresh. For me as an actor it's fresh and exciting."
Weapon X
Fight scenes will, of course, form a significant part of the film. All of the weapons in the film have some symbolic meaning.
And as for Wolverine, he's undergone a few modifications too. His iconic claws are a bit sharper and more dangerous-looking than previous iterations.
The Hand
Images of Wolverine battling a legion of ninja indicate that he will come up against Marvelverse villains The Hand.
A power-hungry order of evil mystical ninja, The Hand are heavily involved in organised crime and mercenary activities such as assassination plots.
Those who managed to sit through Elektra might remember them.
The Third Dimension
The Wolverine will be the first Wolvie film released in 3D, and James Mangold's first experience with the technology too.
He told Collider: 3D is a brand-new experience for me, something the studio is very excited about for the film and I’m very excited about how it might play for the martial arts stuff we’re doing.
"I’m glad on a movie like this that I’m getting a chance to taste what it’s like. We never could have afforded to do it 3D in production."
"Everyone I love will die."
"Everyone I love will die," is a pretty depressing statement, but it was also scribbled on the back of Mangold's script and became his central idea for the movie as the director decided to explore the curse of Wolverine's immportality.
Jackman told Entertainment Weekly: "He realizes everyone he loves dies, and his whole life is full of pain. So it's better that he just escapes. He can't die really. He just wants to get away from everything."
Lights, Camera, Action!
In July 2012, filming on The Wolverine finally began. Jackman took to Twitter to share his excitement with fans, posting: "We're on day 1 of shooting," Jackman wrote. "Wolverine is back…feel so pumped about this one……never felt so ready!!!! will keep y'all posted!!!"
He later shared a photograph of one of the high-protein meals he is eating to stay in shape for the part.
"And you know what that means.... the wolverine diet!! this was meal 2 at 9am this morning," he wrote alongside the photograph of chicken breast and asparagus. Yum.
Sneak Peek
In March 2013, director James Mangold gave us our first glimpse at the much-anticipated movie.
He tweeted a six-second Vine teasing the film's forthcoming trailer, exciting X-fans with a glimpse of Famke Janssen as Jean Grey.
Jean Grey Returns From The Dead
Despite an exciting cameo in the film's first trailer, X-Men actress Famke Janssen remained cryptic with regard to her involvement in the movie.
"I guess you have to watch the movie," she told us back in April. "If I'm in the trailer, I guess I'm in the movie, that I think is a good assumption. They wouldn't put me in the trailer if I wasn't in the movie."
It has since been confirmed that she'll return to the role of telepath Jean Grey – who was also Wolverine's doomed love interest – in the first three X-Men films. James Mangold told Entertainment Weekly that she'll appear as "a shadow presence" who "pops up to mock, comfort, and advise Logan much as Number Six tortured and Gaius Baltar on Battlestar Galactica."
Logan Loses The Healing Factor
Jackman revealed last October that Wolverine will be more vulnerable than in previous incarnations.
"You think [Logan] can get out of anything because he has healing ability, and unless you lop his head off, you know he's going to come back at you," he mused in a web chat. "In this movie, how do we put it? Let's say they discover his kryptonite."
"Yes, there's a type of kryptonite metaphor," added James Mangold. "Some of the people that Logan's up against may have found ways of getting to him that are different from what we've seen before.
"We've made a very concerted effort to try and make the film more real, and pull back a little on the kind of super-duper abilities of Logan. Like, he doesn't bring down any airplanes."
"Wolverine Is Fox's Iron Man," Says Millar
Fox creative consultant Mark Millar reckons The Wolverine will do for Fox what Iron Man did for Marvel Studios. Speaking to CBR, he hinted that the project could pave the way for a shared universe series featuring its Marvel properties.
"I felt like Iron Man was really the beginning of something for the Marvel Studios movies, and The Wolverine will be a similar starting point to build a lot off of for the Fox movies," he said.
Well Hello There, Professor
In one of Hollywood's worst-kept secrets of all time, we know that a not-so-secret post-credits scene has been filmed featuring Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier / Professor X.
The scene, which sees the X-Men's mentor meet Hugh Jackman's Logan in an airport, is expected to link The Wolverine in some way to the forthcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, the next film in the main X-Men series that will serve as both a sequel to 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand and 2011's X-Men: First Class.
Asked about going to Montreal recently to shoot the scene, Mangold told Entertainment Weekly "I don't want to comment," before adding: "It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what's inside The Wolverine."
Posters Get Pinched
Fox must've been pretty proud of their gorgeous Sumi Ink silhouette posters. But the promotional materials caused trouble for the studio when fans began to steal them from bus stops across the States.
According to Fox Chief Creative Officer Tony Sella, over half of the calligraphy-inspired posters have been stolen and will need to be replaced.
Wasn't us guv. Honest.
Jackman Admits Origins Issues
In an unusual move, Hugh Jackman has admitted that Gavin Hood's 2009 solo superhero movie could've been better.
The film focused on Wolverine's backstory and relationship with his half-brother Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber), but Jackman told Entertainment Weekly that he did not feel it succeeded in deepening the character.
"I had something to prove, and we could have done better," Jackman said. "Somehow the first Wolverine movie ended up looking like the fourth X-Men - just with different characters. I left unsure if we'd achieved our goal, which was to make sure people understood my character."
He went on to compare James Mangold's upcoming The Wolverine favourably to Origins, explaining that "this movie will really get to his core."
A Calculated Risk
While on the outside, The Wolverine might seem to be a guaranteed box office hit, James Mangold begs to differ.
"This movie is a risky movie," he told Collider. "It’s got a lot of foreign language. It’s got a cast that’s 9/10′s not American. All those things make studios feel that they’re taking a little more of a risk.
"It’s a character-based film. There isn’t some obvious uber-villain that everyone’s heard of who’s going to be reigning through the film.
"So a lot of the aspects of the movie become elements of risk that they have asked us to make for a little less than some tentpoles might be. For me it’s also the freedom that they’ve really set us free to make the exact movie we want to make."
Jackman's Contract Complete
Regardless of whether The Wolverine is a success, Hugh Jackman is not committed to reprise his Wolverine role in any future projects beyond next year's X-Men: Days of Future Past.
The actor revealed details of his contract in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter and also confirmed that his role in X-Men: Days of Future Past sequel will be substantial.
All this leaves a question about whether he will return to X-Men once he completes the sequel. The actor has said that he would need a "pretty compelling reason" to return to the role, telling Entertainment Weekly: "I won't say never, because I'm still loving it. But there would have to be a pretty compelling reason."
Recasting Wolverine
So if they were to continue the character without his involvement, who would the role go to?
Actors as disparate as Emile Hirsch, Jason Statham, Thomas Jane, Sam Worthington, Mark Wahlberg and Sean Bean have been mooted on internet forums, but we reckon producer Hutch Parker probably got it right when he said that the idea of recasting Jackman's role "feels somewhat blasphemous".
What's Next?
Assuming Hugh Jackman decides to go another round before he decides to hang up his claws, we can't help but wonder which stories might provide the inspiration for Wolverine 3.
And our money's on Mark Millar's 2009 arc Old Man Logan as the perfect way to wind up the trilogy. Revolving around a twisted future where America has been seized and divided up amongst the world’s most powerful supervillains, this storyline is a bleak look at a war-torn dystopia that only Wolverine could hope to put an end to - but first he must face President of the United States Red Skull, a horde of inbred Hulk monsters, a T-Rex that bonded with the Venom symbiote, and his own haunted past.
Kind of ridiculous, yes, but wuldn't it make a brilliant movie?
