"The Wolverine" Directing Gig Offered To James Mangold

If things go well, like we're hoping for, Hugh Jackman's latest mutant adventure should shoot this fall.

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While Darren Aronofsky is off somewhere trying to convince Christian Bale to start working with animals, James Mangold (Walk The Line, 3:10 to Yuma) is set to go feral with The Wolverine.

20th Century Fox reached out to Mangold to helm the project. Anyone who's seen 3:10 To Yuma, the director's 2007 adaptation of an Elmore Leonard short story, you have to respect his ability to film intense action scenes that are still grounded set-pieces. His most recent directorial effort, 2010's Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz action flick/snooze-fest Knight and Day, however, was less successful.

With Christopher McQuarrie's script still in play, The Wolverine will find Hugh Jackman reprising his role of Logan/Wolverine in the heart of Japan, prone to violence and weak to his own impulses. The inspiration comes from the classic Wolverine graphic novel mini-series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller.

Whether the film will still shoot in Japan is up for grabs at this point, though that was the plan before the life-altering natural disasters ravaged the island nation in March.

[Via Deadline]

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