Saturday, October 17

• Is Wolverine 2 the Next X-Men Movie?

  

  X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner admitted to Empire that Wolverine 2 is the "furthest along of all the X-Men projects on the boil." The sequel will be an adaptation of a Wolverine solo comic book series from the 1980s that follows Wolverine as he travels to meet an old flame in Japan.

  It's actually the story we wanted to use for the first Wolverine film, but [Fox head honcho] Tom Rothman preferred to set the character up with an origin story first. This movie will really focus on the relationship between Wolverine and Mariko, the daughter of a Japanese crime lord, and what happens to him in Japan. We're very fortunate to have a story mostly outlined for us [from the comic book arc co-written by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller].

  Shuler Donner believes the movie will also be shot in Japan and is hoping "to have the Japanese Fox executives involved in helping and counseling us" in order to maintain authenticity. She says even screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie is "in Japan in his head." But what will really impress fans is the fighting, with Wolverine taking on both the Yakuza and a ninja clan called the Hand.

  What's cool about this part of the saga is that Wolverine will be fighting in a different style to what we've seen before. Mariko's father has this stick-like weapon, so Wolverine will have to fight against that. There'll be samurai, ninja, katana blades, different forms of martial arts - mano-a-mano, extreme fighting. We're going to come up with a new style of fighting. It's going to be awesome.

  
  

  Posted 10/17/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Lauren Shuler Donner | Christopher McQuarrie | Wolverine 2 | X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Monday, October 12

• Bryan Singer to Return to the X-Men?

  Welcome back, prodigal son.

  During a talk at South Korea's Pusan International Film Festival, X-Men and director Bryan Singer revealed that he is looking to return to the franchise he helped create.

  I'm still looking to possibly returning to the X-Men franchise. I've been talking to Fox about it. I love Hugh Jackman. I love the cast.

  Singer was set to direct X-Men: The Last Stand, but left the project to direct Superman Returns, a move Singer admitted he later regretted. Singer said he would like to return to the X-Men because of the social statements he is allowed to make while working in the world of the mutant outcasts.

  The excitement about working in science fiction and fantasy is — the stories, if they are good, are about the human condition. [I like to] trick audiences into thinking they're seeing fireworks, but they're learning about themselves and listening to what I have to say.

  With Singer negotiating with Fox, the only question remains, which X-Men movie will Singer direct? There's plenty of choices with X-Men: First Class, Deadpool, X-Men Origins: Magneto, Wolverine 2, and possibly even X-Men 4 to choose from. Singer has admitted that Magneto's concentration camp background was probably a no-go, and has been considering directing First Class since August.

  While a return for X-Men 4 makes logical sense, there's also the possibility of Wolverine 2, which is currently being written by Singer pal and The Usual Suspects screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie. Gavin Hood directed X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but, Hood told ITN, is not signed on to direct the sequel.

  I think there is a very good chance that another Wolverine movie would be made. Whether I am the director or somebody else is, and whether I'll be available, and whether they'll want me. Nothing has been decided at this point.

  No matter what movie Singer ends up directing, X-Men fans have to be celebrating.

  
  

  Posted 10/12/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Bryan Singer | Christopher McQuarrie | Gavin Hood | X-Men Origins: Magneto | X-Men: First Class | Wolverine 2 | Deadpool

Thursday, August 13

• Wolverine 2 Gets Screenwriter for "Sexier" Sequel

  THR reports that Christopher McQuarrie will write the script for the upcoming sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. McQuarrie will be responsible for adapting the storyline from the 1982 Wolverine comic book mini-series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller that was hinted at briefly in a post-credits sequence in Wolverine. McQuarrie is no stranger to the X-Men universe, having done an uncredited re-write on 2000's X-Men.

  Hugh Jackman has been staunchly in favor of the Japan storyline since the subject of a Wolverine sequel was raised, and promises that Wolverine 2 will be "fairly faithful" to the Miller-Clarmont book, though Jackmand says they will have to "pick and choose" portions of the story to cover.

  [Wolverine 2] will be very different from the last Wolverine movie, and that's what I like about it. I didn't want it to feel like the same thing.... It's a whole new environment and the storyline is unbelievable. Like all the Wolverine and X-Men stories, they're long. If you put together all the Japan saga stories, it's so long.

  One way Wolverine 2 will be like its predeccessor is in its supporting cast. "There will be a lot of new mutants," said Jackman. However, if Wolverine 2 stays faithful to the comics, Jackman claims that it will also be a much steamier Wolverine than before.

  Parts of that story were pretty dark. I don't know if it's the darkest, but I'm going to go out on a limb right now and say I think it will be the sexiest. There's some female companionship — and not just one — for Wolverine.... My wife might have an issue with it, but I think the fans will like it.

  Jackman says that Wolverine 2 can be expected to reach theaters in 2012. "If you look at the history [of the X-Men movies], it's been every three years — three years exactly."

  
  

  Posted 08/13/2009 by Ryan

  Related: Hugh Jackman | Frank Miller | Christopher McQuarrie | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | X-Men | Wolverine 2

Wednesday, March 21

• Tom Cruise and Usual Suspects crew team up

  

  Variety.com is reporting that Tom Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner have inked a deal for him to star in the next Bryan Singer movie.

  Singer, who is best known as the director of Superman Returns and The Usual Suspects, will be directing an (untitled) WWII thriller about Germans plotting to assassinate Adolf Hitler. This is the second project for United Artists that Cruise and Wagner have put into motion since partnering with that label. The other is Lions for Lambs, a drama directed by Robert Redford, starring Redford, Cruise, and Meryl Streep.

  The WWII thriller was co-written by Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander. This is the first collaboration between McQuarrie and Singer since The Usual Suspects.

   

  
  

  Posted 03/21/2007 by reelz

  Related: Bryan Singer | Paula Wagner | Tom Cruise | Christopher McQuarrie