James Mangold

Concept Art for James Mangold's The Wolverine

After losing Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) as a director and suffering multiple delays, 20th Century Fox's stand-alone sequel to 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, has pretty much dropped off of the radar of everyone but the die-hard comic book movie fans. Thankfully, ScreenRant managed to snap a picture of a teaser poster for the movie — though it is apparently only "concept art" that "probably won't be used in marketing the film" — in new director James Mangold's (3:10 to Yuma) office and it reminded us that this X-Men spin-off movie has the best chance yet of capturing the true spirit of one of Marvel's most popular characters by sending Logan (Hugh Jackman) to Japan to fight ninjas and the Silver Samurai in a story based on one of the character's seminal comic book series.

Director James Mangold Discusses the "Intense" Story of The Wolverine

The Wolverine has had an easy ride so far. The stand-alone sequel to 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine was doing well last year when Hugh Jackman confirmed that director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) was set to direct the movie from a script by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects). A month before production was set to start, however, Aronofsky balked about the lengthy Japan-based shoot and quit, beginning a long search for a replacement, out of which James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line) emerged from a shortlist of contenders.

Mangold, so far, has had little to say about the movie publicly, but, with production stalled until Jackman finishes work on a musical adaptation of Les Miserables. Jackman has said that Mangold has a "clear vision" of where he would like to take The Wolverine, and the director shared a little of what that vision was in a recent interview with MTV.

I was just really intrigued by the script and the project and the boldness of making a really personal Wolverine movie. But it's also more of a journey for the character in a completely foreign land and more of a mystery and an adventure than it kind of is another save the world X-Men film.

James Mangold to Follow The Wolverine with City State Remake

If everything had gone according to plan, director James Mangold (Knight and Day) would be preparing to go into production in Vancouver, B.C. next month on the highly-anticipated non-sequel sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, titled simply The Wolverine. However, since the weather in Japan — where the production would have moved to after the Vancouver leg of the shoot — failed to cooperate and title star Hugh Jackman picked up another acting gig, the start date was pushed back to Summer 2012.

What does the long delay mean for Mangold? Well, for one, it means that he has more time to ruminate on his approach to Marvel's favorite feral mutant. For another, it means that he has time to plan his next move after The Wolverine. According to Deadline, Mangold will produce and direct a remake of Icelandic director Ólaf de Fleur Jóhannesson's as-yet-unreleased crime thriller, City State.

Hugh Jackman Discusses The Wolverine's Possible R-Rating

There's plenty of time to wait for The Wolverine, the non-sequel sequel to 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. When weather caused a delay, Hugh Jackman agreed to shoot a musical adaptation of Les Miserables in February, which ultimately caused the Wolverine shoot to be pushed off until spring 2012.

Fans have never been patient, especially since Jackman has called the Wolverine script, which was loosely based on the classic Marvel Comics limited series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, "the best script yet" and then revealed that the character of Wolverine will be a "little darker" than in previous movies. But how dark? Enough for a R-rating. Jackman discussed that possibility in an interview with MTV.

Hugh Jackman Talks Wolverine Director Changes and Rewrites

It's been a bumpy road for The Wolverine. It first lost its Academy Award–nominated director, got a new director but then was delayed by weather, and finally received a rewrite in the past year and is now on hold until Hugh Jackman to finishes work on a musical version of Les Miserables.

Had everything gone to plan, The Wolverine would have started shooting in April but, a month before, director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) dropped out. In a recent interview with The Playlist, Jackman revealed that he had been trying to work with Aronofsky again (the last time was 2006's The Fountain) for a while.

His personal life precluded him from making the movie. I asked him to do X-Men 3, I asked him to do Wolverine one and he said, "It’s not so much for me." And then he read this and said, "Man, I’m in. This is the best comic movie script I’ve ever read" and he’s been dying to do one for a long time.

The Wolverine "Best Script Yet" Getting a Rewrite; Adding More Viper?

No one said making movies was easy, and the highly anticipated, non-sequel sequel of The Wolverine is a shining example. Already victim of a delay that pushed production into next year (and the release date likely into 2013), the studio is filling that time by giving the script a rewrite.

Hugh Jackman Updates The Wolverine; Could Start Shooting This Year

Had everything gone the way it was supposed to, Hugh Jackman and director Darren Aronofsky would already be shooting The Wolverine, the stand-alone sequel to 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Production was set to begin in April, but in March, a month before The Wolverine was set to start, Aronofsky quit the project, stating that spending time away from his family for the Japan-based shoot was too much for the Black Swan director.

20th Century Fox went out to gather a list of eight directors, out of which James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma) emerged as the final choice. The hiring of Mangold kept The Wolverine from being delayed until 2013, but a production start was never mentioned. Until now.

James Mangold to Direct The Wolverine

In October of last year, Hugh Jackman confirmed that director Darren Aronofsky was in place to direct The Wolverine, the stand-alone sequel to 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and all seemed right with the world.

Armed with a script from Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects), there was no reason not to believe Jackman when he said that Aronofsky was going to make The Wolverine "fantastic." Plans were in place to start shooting in April of this year, but a month before the Japan-based shoot, Aronofsky decided he didn't want to spend a year away from his family and quit. Then, the project just...sat there.

Who Will Direct The Wolverine?

With director Matthew Vaughn's X-Men franchise prequel, X-Men: First Class, opening in theaters in just over a week, it appears as if Fox is finally getting around to looking for a replacement for Darren Aronofsky as director of the studio's next Marvel Comics adaptation, The Wolverine, the planned stand-alone sequel to 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In the wake of Aronofsky's departure—the Academy Award-nominated director didn't want to spend an entire year away from his family filming the movie overseas—David Slade (Twilight Saga: Eclipse), who had been in discussions with Fox before Aronofsky was hired, was rumored to be the top candidate to take the helm until he announced that he has had "no discussions" with Fox about the movie. Speculation then turned to Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code), who is a fan of the character, but he recently revealed his intention to make his sci-fi passion project, Mute, the next movie he directs. Now, Variety has revealed that Fox has put together a short list of eight potential directors to bring the feral mutant back to the big screen.

First Knight and Day Trailer Now Online

Imagine that you meet an actual spy and can't get him out of your life. That's the premise behind Knight and Day (formerly Wichita), the James Mangold comedy starring Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, and a group of escaping bulls.

The movie doesn't open until next summer, but a first-look trailer has made its way online. Check out the bull-free trailer below.