The Wolverine Start Date May Be Delayed Until 2012; Japan Shoot Still a Possibility
Posted 08.25.11 by BrentJS
Die-hard comic book movie fans have been eagerly awaiting the sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine ever since Hugh Jackman teased that the story would be based on the classic Marvel Comics limited series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller and primarily set in Japan. Understandably, they had mixed emotions at the recent announcement that the movie would go into production in Vancouver, B.C., in November. On the one hand, the November start date meant that the movie was finally going to be made, which has seemed in doubt many times, most recently when Darren Aronofsky dropped out as director. On the other hand, the Vancouver location and the reported dates of the shoot seemed to imply that most of the filming would not "take place in Japan," as Jackman indicated at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con.
Now, Deadline has an update on the non-sequel sequel, The Wolverine... And it's more good news/bad news for comic book movie fans. Good news is that the production may yet be filming in Japan — that is, if suitable locations can be found in areas where the weather will cooperate. Bad news is that the movie will likely not be going into production this year, instead waiting for the weather and Jackman's schedule — he is supposed to begin shooting the musical adaptation of Les Miserables in February — to clear up, which means that cameras may not begin rolling until Spring 2012.
Whenever and wherever The Wolverine goes into production, what will be of paramount importantance to fans is that the movie stick as closely as possible to the source material, which forever redefined who and what Logan/Wolverine is — Man or animal? Lover or killer? Superhero or samurai? — and paved the way for his current ranking as Marvel Comics' second most popular character (after Spider-Man). Little has been revealed about the screenplay adaptation, but Jackman has said that The Wolverine will be "the one" movie featuring Wolverine that will stand the test of time.
The Wolverine does not yet have a release date. It was initially speculated that, given an October or November start date, it would open in the 4th quarter of 2012. However, if the start date is pushed back until Spring 2012, the release will likely be pushed back to the 1st or 2nd quarter of 2013.