With Iron Man and Thor returning this year, it’s easy to forget about Wolverine, especially since Last Stand and Wolverine weren’t great, but don’t rule this mad dog out yet.
Coming on July 26th, James Mangold’s movie is an adaptation of the classic Claremont/Miller graphic novel/comic series. The one big difference is that, unlike the comics, the movie will be set after the other X-Men movies. Which is a bit of a chronological headscratcher. However, in an interview with EW, Mangold talked about the timeline alteration.
“It’s set after X-Men 3, but I wouldn’t call it a sequel to X-Men 3,” he said.
“…Because of some of the themes in the Claremont/Miller saga. I felt it was really important to find Logan at a moment where he was stripped clean of his duties to the X-Men, his other allegiances, and even stripped clean of his own sense of purpose. I was fascinated with the idea of portraying Logan as a ronin – the definition of which is a samurai without a master, without a purpose. Kind of a soldier who is cut loose. War is over. What does he do? What does he face? What does he believe anymore? Who are his friends? What is his reason for being here anymore? I think those questions are especially interesting when you’re dealing with a character who is essentially immortal.”
According to Mangold the characters of ukio, Viper, Mariko and Shingen will all appear but the story isn’t sticking completely to the source material. He also likens it to The Outlaw Josey Wales, which we love!
“What I wrote on the back of the script when I first read it was ‘Everyone I love will die.
“He’s living in a kind of isolation. He gets drawn to Japan by an old friendship and then finds himself in a labyrinth of deceit, caught up in the agendas of mobsters, of wealth, and other powers we come to understand… You find Logan and his love is gone, his mentors are gone, many of his friends are gone, his own sense of purpose – what am I doing, why do I bother? – and his exhaustion is high. He has lived a long time, and he’s tired. He’s tired of the pain.”
What say you all? Excited? Bored? Hesitant to be either?
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