Nordling here.
Geoff Boucher of Hero Complex has scored a pretty great interview with Hugh Jackman in regards to the new WOLVERINE film currently in pre-production. And on the surface, it seems that they're going to make something genuinely thrilling and the closest we've seen to the Wolverine of the comics that we all know and love:
"We finally have the character and with this mythology — ever since X-MEN when I was kind of hanging around and reading all these comics, because I was cast before I ever read any X-Men comics, so I was trying to get my hands on everything. I remember saying to Lauren Shuler Donner, “Lauren, I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen this Japanese story, and I think it’s so good. It’s just genius, it’s brilliant."
So it definitely looks like they're adapting the Japanese story from Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. Plus, it's Christopher McQuarrie writing the script:
"Chris McQuarrie has done a script that is just phenomenal. I read a story once that said that he wrote THE USUAL SUSPECTS in 15 days, and with this one he said to me, “I just knew what I wanted, and it came out real easy.” And he’s done an unbelievable job with it."
So, with Aronofsky, McQuarrie, and Jackman all seeming really enthused about the project, will we be getting the Wolverine that fans have been clamoring for since the characters' inception? I've never doubted Hugh Jackman's passion for the role. Even when X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE was falling on its face script-wise and direction-wise, it was Jackman's power in the role that kept the movie from being completely awful. Frankly, it's the role he was born to play. He brings a physicality and an intensity to the part, and he's a good actor to boot. Aronofsky got the best performance out of him in THE FOUNTAIN, and I'm fully confident that he'll turn in another one with THE WOLVERINE.
As for Darren Aronofsky, it was only a matter of time before the guy made a superhero film. He'd been talking about it for years, since literally the beginning of his career. If any director is going to make a kick-ass Wolverine film, Aronofsky is it. My reservations for the film are completely gone at this point. Aronofsky has proven he's a great director more than once already. Now we'll see what he can do with a project like this, with so many fans awaiting that one great Wolverine film that they've been waiting years to see. And the fact that this is a one-off frees Aronofsky to really let go of past films with the character and create something truly unique and compelling. We'll know soon enough.
Nordling, out.