# Jackman Talks Wolverine



## Sinister (Apr 18, 2004)

*October 30, 2006* - Slowly but surely, _Wolverine_ is coming together. According to star and producer Hugh Jackman, if all goes to plan, fans can look forward to seeing Wolvie in his first solo, big screen adventure in late spring of 2008.

"That's kind of what we're looking at right now," Jackman tells IGN. "A summer release would be great though. Perhaps that's possible. But some things still need to fall into place."

The first element that needs to fall into place is the screenplay. And the word from Jackman is screenwriter David Benioff "has delivered, _big time_. We now have the final script, the final draft, which I absolutely love. For me, it's the most superior of them all. I know the fans are going to go crazy for it."

Jackman and his producing partners inquired with a few screenwriters and considered story proposals. Inevitably, they were sold by Benihoff's knowledge of _X-Men_ lore and enthusiasm for the _Wolverine_ movie.

"Here's a guy who's this amazing writer, probably one of the hottest writers going in town; Spielberg and everyone are after him," says Jackman. "But he was beating down our door to make this movie because he's the most passionate Wolverine fan. He's followed all of the books since he was 9-years-old. For us, it's one of those rare combinations where you have a writer who has all these Oscar-winning directors wanting to work with and he's like, 'I want to do _Wolverine_!'"

As Jackman was working on _The Prestige_ and other projects, he stayed in periodic contact with Beinhoff as he wrote the script.

"With someone like David, you mostly let him do his thing and he comes back with the script," he says. "He'd deliver a draft, we'd sit down together and talk about it. And I'd let him know what I think. If I think so, I'll say 'It's fantastic.' Or, 'We may have to go in this direction.' Or, 'What about this?' He's very collaborative."

Having played Wolverine for three films, Jackman says he was able to bring his unique perspective to the script.

"For better or worse, I've played the role for three movies so it's a character that I know. I feel like I know what I want to achieve with the film, but David has been very collaborative, and I'm not shy in telling him what I think. He'll say I disagree with you or whatever. But it's been a really terrific process so far."

What Jackman wants for _Wolverine_ is this: "I don't want the film to appear at all like _X-Men 4_ in disguise. I want it to feel like a very fresh, whole new character piece. I want it to be a _character_ movie. And by the end of the movie, I want it to be that you _definitely_ knew who this guy was. Cool action, great characters, but ultimately that you totally _know_ who Wolverine is. Like Mad Max and Dirty Harry. Characters I loved. He's a good guy, but he's _not_ a nice guy. He's just the guy you want on your side. [David] really got that. He's one of the best character writers in Hollywood. He totally got it."

The next essential element is working _Wolverine_ into Jackman's schedule. As the star and producer, he knows it will be a huge time commitment - probably three to four months of photography, some of which may take place in Australia, then considerable post-production.

"I'm shooting a movie with Baz Luhrmann and Nicole Kidman next year in Australia, and then we plan to do _Wolverine_ after that."

And let's not forget about a director. "That's our next goal," says Jackman. "Now we have to find a director, which we're looking for now. If I see you guys maybe in about a month, I might be able to let you know who the director is. We're close."


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## Johnny Thunder (Feb 24, 2006)

Sounds pretty good to me.


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## RAXL (Jul 9, 2004)

I love Hugh as Logan. 
But, have you seen Jackman in any of his Broadway stuff? To be able to do that, then become Logan, well, he's a great actor. 
Pretty excited about the solo Logan film. 
Maybe Sabertooth willl show up. Tyler Mayne had stated before that his contract called for him to appear in sequels. Since he never made it into anymore X Men flicks, maybe this is it.


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## grapegrl (Jan 3, 2006)

Schweeeet!!!

Of course, most folks around here know how I feel about Mr. Jackman! 

*swoon*


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## Sinister (Apr 18, 2004)

According to IMDB (And we know how reliable they are) both Stryker and Lady Deathstrike are rumored to be villains. I want to see Omega Red, dammit! I'm sure Tyler Mane or another actor playing Sabretooth will be the main heavy. Besides all that, I'm sure they could work The Reavers in somehow. The X films got ****ed up where it came to the comics, I'm quite certain they could put Logan in another situation where Pierce and his killer cyborgs came into being other than the fight in the Hellfire Club. Magneto wasn't even part of the Dark Phoenix saga but they put him in there anyway.


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## RAXL (Jul 9, 2004)

Wow, I thought Stryker and Deathstrike were dealt with, with some finality in X2. I hadn't expected those names to pop up again.


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## Pete (Apr 13, 2004)

Isn't the Wolverine movie a prequel to the X-Men stuff?


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## Sinister (Apr 18, 2004)

Pete said:


> Isn't the Wolverine movie a prequel to the X-Men stuff?


That's the impression I got. I think it has something to do with Sabretooth killing Silver Fox and Logan voluteering for the Weapon X program, not suspecting he's a pawn in a much larger scheme. Also, Ken Watanbee is rumored to be in this as Silver Samurai. So, I guess we'll see Weapon X in Japan. That is, if rumors are true.


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## Johnny Thunder (Feb 24, 2006)

I'd like to see the whole movie set in Japan and play up that angle. 

That, or have the Brood invade and watch Logan slice and dice some alien butt.


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## RAXL (Jul 9, 2004)

Wait, Ra's Al Ghul is gonna be the Silver Samurai? :ninja:


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