Writer gets claws into Wolverine sequel

From: coventrytelegraph.net
Written by: David Bentley.

ONLY the other day, X-Men Origins: Wolverine star Hugh Jackman confirmed there would be a sequel and that it would be set in Japan.

The follow-up is obviously being fast-tracked as a writer for the project has now been announced.

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Christopher McQuarrie has signed on to pen the screenplay.

Jackman is also producing along with Lauren Shuler Donner.

The movie's storyline will follow the early 1980s Chris Claremont/Frank Miller miniseries, which sees Wolverine learning the ways of the samurai. He battles a ninja clan called The Hand as he struggles with whether to follow his animal killer instincts or the samurai code of honor and respect.

The story was hinted at in one of the movie's post-credit scenes in which the character is sat in a bar in Japan.

McQuarrie, who won an Oscar for writing The Usual Suspects for Bryan Singer, had worked with Singer on the first X-Men film but asked for his name to be removed from the credits after David Hayter reshaped the script into the version that was used. McQuarrie also wrote the Nazi war thriller Valkyrie, directed by Singer.

The first Wolverine movie was penned by David Benioff (Troy, The Kite Runner) and Skip Woods (Hitman, Swordfish), who are obviously not returning, and directed by Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Rendition), whose return to the franchise is now also in doubt.

Oddly, there has been no news yet of any movement on other X-Men projects such as X-Men: First Class, X-Men Origins: Magneto or a Deadpool spin-off, all of which seem to be more anticipated by fans than another Wolverine adventure.

Ryan Reynolds, who played Wade Wilson - the mercenary who becomes Deadpool - in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, recently signed to play Green Lantern for Warner Bros but indicated he was still keen to appear in the Deadpool spin-off too. It's unclear whether Reynolds' move to Warner Bros has impacted on Fox's plans for Deadpool.

For fans, the real shame is that the X-Men series seems to unfold in such an ad-hoc fashion, with no overarching strategy in mind.