Previous interviews with James Mangold and Hugh Jackman revealed a director and actor excited to adapt the classic 1982 limited series from comic book writer Chris Claremont and artist Frank Miller. Last week, 20th Century Fox released the first trailer for The Wolverine and there were quite a few moments shown that proved Mangold and his cinematographer Ross Emery are definitely respecting the source material.
The 1982 Wolverine comic book from Chris Claremont and Frank Miller opens with Wolverine in the Canadian Rockies after the bounty on a feral bear that’s killed some campers. The international trailer confirms that the movie opens in Faro, a small town in Yukon, Canada. From the ragged condition of Logan, don't be surprised if Mangold opens with Wolverine vs man-eating bear; even self-healing, neigh-immortal mutants need money for food.
As it turns out, the bear went feral due to a poisoned arrow from a hunter that neglected to finish the job. Wolverine uses his keen senses to track the irresponsible hunter to a local bar where the hunter makes the foolish mistake of attacking Logan. This scene from the trailer appears to be a very close approximation of this confrontation in the comic book. Is this man a bear hunter or just someone that gets on Wolverine's bad side?
When Claremont’s Japan saga begins, Wolverine and Mariko are already lovers having met through a previous adventure the X-Men shared with her cousin, the mutant named Sunfire. When she mysteriously returns to Japan and Logan can't get in touch with her he boards the earliest flight to Japan he can find. The X-Men never shared an adventure with Sunfire in any of Fox’s previous X-Men movies so Mangold and his screenwriters have devised a different reason for Wolverine's journey to Japan.
Much of the action will take place at the Yashida-clan family castle or yagura. The trailer reveals that the film is definitely taking its design ques from the same structure in the comic book. However, where this was merely an ancestral home of the Yashida clan in the Claremont tale, the trailer insinuates that there's a research wing housed within the confines of the tower.
A 'Silver Samurai' will be one of Wolverine's many foes in the film. In Claremont's story, this adversary doesn't appear until the latter portion of the comic book story arc. There's no way to divine whether this will be the case in the film however it's probably safe to assume that at the very least, a civilian garbed Kenuichio Harada will be appearing early and often.
One of the most exciting aspects of the story will be seeing Wolverine face a large group of ninja assassins. In the comic book storyline, this group was known as The Hand, the same ninja group that previously appeared on screen in 2005's Elektra. With Daredevil rights returning to Marvel we'll have to wait and see if the ninjas are ever identified by name in Mangold's film.
The fabled Shinkansen or Bullet Train appeared in the original Claremont comic book series as well but there wasn't anything close to resembling a battle on the train's rooftop.
Viper appears as a companion and love interest of the Silver Samurai in the original comic book. In the trailer it appears she is disguised as a scientist but eventually shows her true colors. In the comics, both she and the Samurai have possess technology that allows them to teleport, an ability hinted at in various reports but not yet confirmed as appearing in the film.
In the 1982 comic book series Jean Grey aka The Phoenix is dead at this point in the X-Men's history; the same as her onscreen counterpart, Famke Janssen who died at the end of X-Men: The Last Stand. However, Claremont gave a subtle clue that The Phoenix would soon be rising amid the frantic events of history. Mangold is giving Jean's death a much larger role to play in his film. The question is whether she'll actually appear as more than just a vision or memory?
Spinning out of the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, Logan (Hugh Jackman) travels to Japan where he falls for the beautiful Mariko Yashida (Tao Okamoto) to the grave displeasure of her father Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi) and her half-brother, the fearsome Silver Samurai (Will Yun Lee). But this isn't Logan's first trip to the Land of the Rising Sun or his first encounter with the Yashida clan. Based on a screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie) and Mark Bomback (Live Free or Die Hard, Total Recall )and the comic book by Frank Miller and Chris Claremont.
Running Time: In post-production
Release Date: July 26, 2013
MPAA Rating: R (rumored)
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Brian Tee, Will Yun Lee, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rila Fukushima, Tao Okamoto
Directed by: James Mangold
Written by: Mark Bomback (screenplay) Christopher McQuarrie (screenplay) Frank Miller (comic book) Chris Claremont (comic book)
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