Maybe you can’t kill Wolverine, but you can certainly make him suffer.
Actor Hugh Jackman’s return as Logan the adamantium-clawed hero in The Wolverine, due out July 26, takes place in Japan. And it follows the cues of a beloved comics series from 1982, created by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, which explored the invincible hero’s tangled loyalties and alliances.
If Logan does have a weak spot to explore, it may be his heart. The story involves complicated relationships between him and Yukio (Rila Fukushima), a female ninja who works for crime boss Shingen (Hiroyuki Sanada), who happens to be the father of Wolverine’s other love, Mariko (Tao Okamoto). Also in the mix is Viper (rumored to be played by Svetlana Khodchenkova), a female villain who has another love-hate relationship with Wolverine.
Director James Mangold talked with EW CapeTown about fidelity to the source material, and trying to find a way to turn Wolverine’s invincibility against him.
Q: How closely do you follow the Claremont/Miller comic book series that inspired this movie? Sampling the vibe and some images?
A: It’s definitely more. A lot of that story and a lot of beats from that saga are in there — and a lot of characters. Without being religious about it, I think it’s a very admiring adaptation. Obviously when you’re adapting anything you make some changes. But all the characters are there – Yukio, Viper, Mariko, Shingen, and Logan obviously. The whole cast of characters that exist in that world, exists in our film.
Q: Chronologically, this follows all the other movies featuring Wolverine. But the sense I’m getting is that you’re trying to reboot the character a little.
A: It’s set after X-Men 3, but I wouldn’t call it a sequel to X-Men 3. You have a choice the second you enter a world like this with a huge amount of comic books, backstories, three movies, a Wolverine origins movie … You have decide where you’re going to exist in relation to all these other things, particularly if you’re working with an actor who actually played the character in other films…
Read More: ew.com
