Wolverine Moves to Canada

It looks like it's time for Hugh Jackman to grow back the mutton chops and get those claws sharpened. The sequel to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" will be going into production in Vancouver starting in November, reports Blastr. "The Wolverine," as the film is being called right now, has had a rough trip to the starting line.

First, original director Darren Aronofsky had to drop out of the film because of family concerns. Directing duties have now been handed over to James Mangold. He helmed Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz's action romance "Knight and Day," which I actually thought was a fun popcorn flick.

Next, the studio changed the location of shooting from Japan to Vancouver. These changes occurred because of the recent earthquake and tsunami that hit the country. The film will now be shot at Canadian Motion Picture Park. This is the place that movies and television shows like "Twilight," "Supernatural," and "Fantastic Four" have used.

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" was panned by fans for not being true to the comic book origins of the character. Honestly, I thought the film was better than the "X-Men" movies. It was definitely more entertaining and had better pacing than those films. Of course, I'm not mentally attached to the character like avid fans of the comic books are. I couldn't care less what they change about him as long as I had a good time in the theater.

"The Wolverine" was originally supposed to be based on the classic Frank Miller/Chris Claremont comic book storyline that has Logan's adventures taking him to the Far East. There's no word whether they are still working with that script. One thing is for sure: None of it will actually be shot in the Far East.

Besides Jackman, "The Wolverine" will star Kelly Hu as Yuriko Oyama/Lady Deathstrike. Christopher McQuarrie is supposedly adapting the screenplay from Miller and Claremont's comic book. McQuarrie is known for penning "The Usual Suspects," "Valkyrie," and "The Tourist." He certainly has been proved a writer able to inject a good amount of suspense and complexity into his scripts. The movie is scheduled for release in 2012.

For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:

Interview with 'Captain America: The First Avenger' Comic Prequel Writer Fred Van Lente
Essential 'Captain America' Books to Get You Acquainted with the Hero
Marvel Releases 'Captain America: The First Avenger' Prequel Graphic Novel

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