Those disappointed by “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, the critically-lambasted 2009 spinoff of the iconic superhero franchise, are no doubt keeping their hopes high that Fox’s planned sequel – currently titled “The Wolverine” and being directed by James Mangold – will drastically improve upon its predecessor. To that end, Variety is reporting that the studio has hired screenwriter Mark Bomback to come in and rewrite Christopher McQuarrie’s original script for the follow-up.
Bomback has been quite popular as of late, having co-written the “Total Recall” remake for Sony and director Len Wiseman as well as penning a draft of “Jack the Giant Killer” for Warner Bros. and Bryan Singer. Interestingly, for the latter project Singer actually brought in long-time collaborator McQuarrie to rewrite Bomback’s draft of the script, so this is a case of the shoe being on the other foot, I suppose.
Hugh Jackman will return as the adamantium-clawed mutant superhero for the sequel, which will be set in Japan with a largely Japanese/Japanese-American cast. The story will have an amnesiac Wolverine attempting to recover memories from his past dealings with the country’s criminal underworld.
Production is expected to begin next year in Vancouver and Tokyo after Jackman wraps filming on Universal’s “Les Miserables”. The actor’s next film is Dreamworks’ “Real Steel”, releasing October 7th.