Christopher McQuarrie In Talks To Direct MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 5
Deadline reports that writer/director Christopher McQuarrie is in talks with Paramount to helm Mission: Impossible 5. McQuarrie is best known as an Oscar winning screenwriting for films such as Usual Suspects, Way of The Gun, Valkyrie, The Wolverine, Jack The Giant Slayer and All You Need Is Kill. He recently did double duty with the Tom Cruise actioner Jack Reacher and seems to have impressed the studio brass. Not to mention they would end up with a solid screenwriter.
James Mangold Says THE WOLVERINE Is A Japanese Noir Film
Director James Mangold has revealed a little more to Empire (via CBM) about the tone of The Wolverine. Not mention talking about it’s themes which seem darker than previous X-Men films. James also gives a bit of knock to the Avengers giving the impression Wolverine won’t be the fun romp that film was. Could this be the movie Wolverine fans have been asking for a decade? I guess we’ll find out for sure this summer.
“It’s rooted in drama. Effectively almost every superhero film, in a sense, revolves around some large group of humanity that’s either killed or held hostage while superheroes battle it out with supervilains. The essential driving forces of this movie are interpersonal and dramatic, about love, bitterness, loss, vengeance, redemption, depression, suicide, conquering inner demons – it’s going to make it a very different film than people have seen.”
“The cultural qualities that Japan and its people bring – honour, a sense of duty, of conflict – really fit beautifully around Logan. Our film find Logan at a point where he’s very much a ronin – a samurai without a master. Anyone he ever had a connection to is either dead or gone.”
“When I say realistic, what I mean is that it’s not built on 70-foot lizards from outer space. Our goal is to try to be a little less super-CG and wires, and a little more hardcore. I want the film to feel analogue. You always have large-scale action and adventure – it wouldn’t be a movie about gods if you didn’t have epic physicality. But we all feel we’re making a Japanese noir picture with tentpole action in it.”
Logan Heading Back To WWII In ‘THE WOLVERINE’
An image from the Australian set found by SuperHeroHype (via SlashFilm) has confirmed that The Wolverine will feature WWII scenes involving a Japanese prisoner camp, planes and the atomic bombs used during the war. The image below has a board littered with concept art for the film. It has real war/fallout photos mixed with the film’s artwork. It will be interesting to see if Logan (now plagued amnesia) made powerful enemies during that time. Not to mention that sequence with Wolverine holding the sword against the planes looks pretty impressive. How much of the film will be set in this period is unknown considering Origins ended sometime in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Some other set images also confirm this with the practical pieces begin put together.
‘THE WOLVERINE’ Will Shoot On Location In Japan With Japanese Cast
Recently it was announced that production on The Wolverine will be heading to Sydney, Australia. It seemed like the Australia would be doubling the land of the rising run. The new film is based on the famous Japanese-saga where Logan discovers the samurai warrior code along with his signature fighting skills. Fox’s Tom Rothman confirms to MTV that’s not the case. As the expensive stage work will be done in Australia while location scenes will be filmed in Japan. Not to mention confirming the cast will include many Japanese actors. Not much is known about the character lineup but it’s been confirmed that Silver Samurai and Viper will appear.
“It’s set in Japan. A great number of Japanese actors will be in it and it’s based on the very famous run of the comics… I can just tell you on behalf of [Jackman], his goal is to make the ultimate, bad ass, berserker rage Wolverine.”
This makes sense considering how close the two countries are and seemly makes more sense than have stages in Canada or the states. Japan is a notoriously expensive country to shoot a movie so to have the entire production done there I’m sure isn’t in the budget. Australia offers tax breaks and incentives to productions filmed in the country while Japan doesn’t offer the same incentives to foreign projects.
Fox Unleashes The Wolverine For July 2013
It’s official HeatVision reports 20th Century Fox has set July 13th 2013 as the release date for The Wolverine. The stand alone film that features our favorite Canadian mutant is expected to go into production this spring/summer. James Mangold (3:10 To Yuma) directs the film with a script by Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects) and Mark Romanek (Total Recall). The film is a priority at Fox which makes sense considering how well First Class and the indie Chronicle have performed. The film’s villains are expected to be Silver Samurai, The Yakuza, Viper and the ninja clan The Hand.
Deadpool And Wolverine Shooting Within The Year?
20th Century Fox has a lot on their plate with their comic book films. They currently have Daredevil, Fantastic Four and an X-Men First Class sequel in different development stages. David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night) is set to direct the Daredevil reboot and Josh Trank in talks for Fantastic Four. Matthew Vaughn is still being pursued to return for First Class 2 but hasn’t signed on.
Two projects that have been delayed include the spin-off/reboot Deadpool and the Japanese saga The Wolverine. TheGeekFiles reports that a source from Fox confirms both films will go into production within the year. I assume they’re still aiming for a summer 2013 release date for The Wolverine and I expect a late summer/fall 2013 release for Deapool. He’s a rundown of the two movies and what’s happened since their original announcements.
The Wolverine is expected to more of a one-off than a sequel to the Origins film. Taking inspiration from the Japanese saga written by Frank Miller and Chris Claremont. Solid source material considering the mess the first film was. The terrible disaster that effected Japan pushed back the Wolverine’s original 2011 production date which was expected to shoot a good chunk of the movie there. Personal issues lead to the exit of director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Requiem From A Dream) and James Mangold (Walk The Line, 3:10 To Yuma) stepped in. The film’s script written by Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects) ended up getting rewrites from Mark Bomback (Total Recall, Die Hard 4, Jack The Giant Killer). Again the film’s expected Spring 2012 shoot was put into question when Hugh Jackman signed onto Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables which is about to start production. It was confirmed that we’ll be seeing characters like Silver Samurai, Viper, Yukio and The Hand.
Deadpool hasn’t had as many issues as The Wolverine but still did have some during it’s development. It’s script written by the duo Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese who brought us the successful zombie comedy Zombieland ended up leaking online, revealing it’s characters. Those included at the time of the leak Blind Al, Patch, Copycat, Ajax (villain) and X-Men member Colossus. While Fox seemed to freak out about the script being all over the web everyone who ended up reading it loved it. It will be interesting to see how many changes if any will end up in the final film.
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez had been named as dream directors for the project. While Rodriguez took a look at the script and had talks with Fox he ended up making Spy Kids 4 instead. VFX expert Tim Miller ended up landing the directing job which seemed to confuse a lot of people unfamiliar with his work. He owns and works for VFX company Blur Studios making some of the best cinematic trailers for video games. Miller was involved in the effects departments for both X-Men and X2. It’s expected that Blur will end up doing the Deadpool’s effects. They’ve previously worked on films like Scott Pilgrim, Avatar and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
Ryan Reynolds had been eager to play Deadpool for years and was cast as Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins:Wolverine. The film was a total mess angering Deadpool fans who felt the studio ruined the on screen character. Ryan went on the defensive and the studio looked to push for a spin-off in the meantime. Even if Reynolds had been clamoring his constant involvement in giving fans a faithful Deadpool film it was questionable if he was going to stick around. During Green Lantern’s production a trilogy had been brought up and it looked like Ryan could exiting Deadpool. Luckily for Fox, Green Lantern tanked and WB’s rushed sequel didn’t look like it was going to happen anytime soon. It’s been confirmed yet again that Ryan is still attached to the project and is just waiting for the production date.
Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld recently confirmed that the studio has shot around eight minutes of hard-R test footage which he’s been able to preview. It seems that pre-production is currently about to start and they’re just waiting for a greenlight from both Fox and producer Lauren Shuler Donner. Donner confirmed not too long ago she would be pushing the studio to go with the R rating.
Christopher McQuarrie To Direct Rubicon Based On Seven Samurai
Deadline reports that screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie is setting up a deal for his third directorial effort Rubicon. The project is based on his graphic novel which is largely inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. Instead of samurais and bandits the heroes are Navy SEALS while the villains are the Taliban.
McQuarrie is no stranger to this type of genre he won an Oscar for his work on The Usual Suspects and did a decent writing job on Valkyrie. He’s currently shooting his second film One Shot with Tom Cruise in the lead. Also writing scripts for Jack The Giant Killer, The Wolverine and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. While I’m on board for his writing abilites and this project’s concept. I’ll have to see One Shot before getting my hopes up since his first film had major pacing issues.
The Wolverine Gets Rewrites & Viper Gets Bigger Role
The production for The Wolverine has seen some bumps in the road. First, director Darren Aronofsky who was originally going to helm the film jumped ship. Not too far after the terrible tragedy that effected most of Japan where most of the shooting was expected to take place. James Mangold (Knight & Day, Walk The Line) took the directing gig and there has been some progress even with the fall shoot being bumped until the spring.
Variety reports that Christopher McQuarrie’s script is going see rewrites from Mark Bomback (Total Recall, Live Free & Die Hard). Bomback also did rewrites for Bryan Singer’s Jack The Giant Killer another script that McQuarrie worked on. They also say that the role of Viper has been expanded which is likely to be another of the film’s villains as she was an ally of Silver Samurai in the comics. Viper is also known as the Captain America villain Madame Hydra so it will be interesting to see Fox’s take on the character.
James Mangold Will Direct The Wolverine
20th Century Fox has finally chosen a director to replace Darren Aronofsky. Deadline reports that James Mangold (Walk The Line) has nabbed the director’s chair and will start production on The Wolverine in the fall. Hopefully this means that the studio still plans on shooting on location in Japan.
Mangold wasn’t my favorite choice out of the recent group of candidates but he isn’t a bad one either. He’s no stranger to action films with his previous work on 3:10 To Yuma and Knight & Day. He does have a visual edge to his movies so with a solid script from Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects) I have no doubt he can improve on the last Wolverine film. It’s expected that The Wolverine will be it’s own film ignoring the events of X-Men: Wolverine Origins. More than anything focusing on the raw source material that Frank Miller wrote.
Directors Out Of The Running For The Wolverine?
It looks like Fox has had quite a mess on their hands since Darren Aronofsky exited The Wolverine. The promising film written by Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects, Valkyrie) and based on Frank Miller Japanese saga hasn’t had much traction since. The studio still aimed at shooting on location in Japan seems to have been waiting to see how the recovery was going before proceeding with the production. Pausing the production date doesn’t seem to be a problem but finding a new director however is.
Recently it was reported that the studio had a list of hopeful directors that included Duncan Jones (rumored), Jose Padilha (Elite Squad 1-2, Robocop), Doug Liman (Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, All You Need Is Kill), Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Brooklyn’s Finest), Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo, Never Let Me Go), Justin Lin (Fast Five, Highlander, Terminator 5), Gavin O’Connor (Warrior), James Mangold (Cop Land, Knight & Day, 3:10 To Yuma, Walk The Line) and Gary Shore.
Mark Romanek, Doug Liman and Antonie Fuqua have seemingly taken themselves out of the running. Romanek states “That’s just one of those stories that floated around. I was on their list, I received the script months ago. It didn’t seem like my kind of thing…That script was a terrific version of that kind of thing, but not something I felt really passionate about.” While Liman (Luna) and Fuqua (South Paw) are pursing other projects.
Jones had been the most promising name linked and confirmed meeting with the studio out of politeness. Jones has been trying to get money together for Mute and his Blade Runner homage. So it’s likely he’s been talking with major studios like Fox to get the films financed. Justin Lin is also linked for the film but has a three projects currently in development which includes Terminator 5, Fast Six and Highlander.So it looks like the only current directors in the running are Jose Padilha, Gavin O’Connor, James Mangold and Gary Shore.
8 Directors In The Running For The Wolverine
ShowBlitz is reporting that 20th Century Fox is circling eight directors for The Wolverine. It originally had Darren Aronofsky set to direct with a script by Christopher McQuarrie. The directors include Jose Padilha (Elite Squad 1-2, Robocop), Doug Liman (Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, All You Need Is Kill), Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Brooklyn’s Finest), Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo, Never Let Me Go), Justin Lin (Fast Five, Highlander, Terminator 5), Gavin O’Connor (Warrior), James Mangold (Cop Land, Knight & Day, 3:10 To Yuma, Walk The Line) and Gary Shore.
My favorites of this group includes Mark Romanek, Jose Padilha, Gavin O’Connor, James Mangold and Antoine Fuqua. The likes of Lin and Liman sort of worries me as these two aren’t strong visually and aren’t as well liked as some of the other candidates. Even more so when compared to the likes of Aronofsky and the rumored Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code). I’d love to see Romanek take on a big genre film as he was originally set to make The Wolf Man before walking and forcing Universal to rush the project.
Duncan Jones Confirms Talks With Fox To Direct Wolverine
AICN has confirmation from a source that during a Source Code question and answer period the young director confirms talks with the studio to helm The Wolverine. Duncan gave the impression he’d rather make another one of his original science fiction films but took the meeting to weigh his options and to be polite. Currently there are conflicting reports on when The Wolverine will start production. I’ve heard the film could start shooting as early as July but some trades have mentioned November. They could be confused as the projected release date has been aimed at November 2012.
Jones is having trouble financing his science fiction thriller Mute. Which is set in a futuristic Berlin when a mute bartender’s girlfriend is kidnapped. I would assume that if he made a deal with Fox they could end up financing Mute in return for his directing services on The Wolverine. Fox made a similar deal with Darren Aronofsky that I expect is still valid even though he’s left Wolverine. A deal with Fox Searchlight could be a great career move for Jones as he would be able to make his original films with the backing of a studio who appreciates independent filmmakers.
Duncan Jones Could Direct The Wolverine
Deadline has a new report that Universal has offered the Huntsman role to Hugh Jackman in Snow White & The Huntsman. The only catch would be that he’d have to choose to do this over The Wolverine. I wouldn’t be shocked this being a tactic by Jackman to light a fire under the seat of 20th Century Fox who have yet to pick a director to replace Darren Aronofsky. The article mentions that the studio is currently looking at Duncan Jones (Source Code) and David Slade (30 Days of Night.
Slade seems like a reasonable choice as he was in the initial group of directing candidates but has since been attached to Daredevil. I’m curious to see if he drops Daredevil to focus on The Wolverine which would take up a considerable amount of his time with the projected November 2012 release date. While David has been tagged for directing a Twilight film he’s made some awesome films such as Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night. I didn’t care for the look of the vampires in 30 Days of Night but it seemed like a faithful film to the comics which should ease reservations of X-Men fans.
Duncan Jones on the other hand might be as creditable as Aronofsky. Jackman previous stated they would be looking at directors similar to Aronofsky. Jones seems like the most applicable to Darren with auteur sensibilities while being able to work on a grand scale with a limited budget. His first film Moon was a stellar homage to work of Ridley Scott but being it’s on monster and a great addition to the science fiction genre. Duncan isn’t new to being offered big studio genre projects. He previous was in talks for the Superman and Judge Dredd reboots. Along with being a fan favorite to take over directing duties from Jon Favreau on Iron Man 3. Jones has been trying hard to get his speechless thriller Mute made and I’m sure there could be a possibility Fox would fund the film if he directs The Wolverine. I’d personally take Jones over Slade only because I’ve felt his films have a stronger emotional connection which would be needed for the dramatic script written by Christopher McQuarrie (Jack The Giant Killer, Usual Suspects)
Hugh Jackman Confirms The Wolverine Moving Forward
SuperheroHype and CinemaBlend were able to speak with Hugh Jackman during some early promotion for Real Steel at CinemaCon. The actor/producer of The Wolverine commented on the film and their search for a director. He also gives the impression Fox is currently still looking into when they can start shooting in Japan. The majority of the film is expected to shoot in the country.
“So now we’re out looking for a director. We were pretty much ready to go. The script is fantastic — the best we’ve ever had, which is why it attracted Darren in the first place. His personal situation precludes him from doing it now, and I feel for him. But now we need to find a director…..We’re not going to settle. We’re going to find a director as good as Darren, if not better. Well, as good. Everyone is still pushing forward to getting it done.”
“We need to find another director and once we’ve found that, we’ll be able to know. It’s too early to call on Japan [where the majority of filming will take place], I’m not sure where they’re at, so now we’re finding another director….Fox is very anxious to make the movie and we’re moving ahead full steam to find another director.”
Producer Lauren Shulder Donner also recently commented on the film during her interview with Empire Magazine. Giving the impression it will be a true Wolverine film and there won’t be forced mutant cameos.
“It will have depth and a dramatic backbone. And yet there’s more action in this one than in any one we’ve ever done. It’s such a good script. We have the great Christopher McQuarrie writing and it’s very true to the Japanese saga. This is Logan on his own…”
I think it would be a great boost for the film industry over there to have a production like The Wolverine shot there. Hopefully his talk of a director as good as Aronofsky isn’t just lip-service as many fans are under the impression that Darren left over creative issues. If they do look into directors like Matt Reeves and Duncan Jones I’d be happy. The statement of a director as good as Darren would give me the idea that David Fincher or someone on his level could be looked into.
Ian McShane Will Play The King In Jack The Giant Killer
HeatVision reports that Ian McShane (Deadwood, Pirates 4) has been cast as the king in Bryan Singer’s Jack The Giant Killer. Nicholas Hoult (X-Men First Class) plays farmer boy/hero Jack and Eleanor Tomlinson as the kidnapped princess he quests to rescue from the giants. Stanley Tucci, Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy and John Kassir (Tales From The Crypt) also have roles.
Darren Aronofsky Exits The Wolverine
HollywoodReporter has the official press release from 20th Century Fox concerning director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) leaving the The Wolverine. Darren sited personal reasons as the production would spend close to a year in Japan and away from his son. Even with the disaster over in Japan the studio is still moving forward with the film shooting a majority of it on location there.
It’s a testament to the commitment both the studio and Hugh Jackman have to the movie being shoot in Japan. As many studios might be scared off to start new productions there during the recovery effort. It’s interesting they haven’t named a new director but it would have to be named soon as the production is set for July with a November-December 2012 release date pending. A recent casting call-sheet for the film was released online so they must someone replace Darren.
My choice to take on the film would be Matt Reeves who is best known for Cloverfield and more recently Let Me In. Reeves had been in the running to take the director’s chair before Aronofsky was hired. I assume it’s very possible as Reeves has yet to announce his next film and seems like he could jump right in if Fox decides to go with him. David Slade who was also a candidate was just selected to direct their Daredevil reboot so he’s likely now out of the running. The real wild card would be if Matthew Vaughn is offered the film as Bryan Singer is busy with Jack The Giant Killer. Vaughn has also yet to announce his next film and will be finished with X-Men First Class come July. I’m sure the studio will announce a new director very soon as they must have a backup.
Eleanor Tomlinson Is Princess Isabella In Jack The Giant Killer
Deadline reports that relative unknown actress Eleanor Tomlinson (Alice In Wonderland) has been cast as Princess Isabella in Bryan Singer’s Jack The Giant Killer. It stars Nicholas Hoult as Jack along with Stanley Tucci as the villain, Bill Nighy as the leader of the giants and Ewan McGregor is also in talks for a role as well.
Ewan McGregor Joins Jack The Giant Killer
HeatVision reports there is another excellent addition to Bryan Singer’s Jack The Giant Killer. Ewan McGregor is final talks to play the leader of the King’s elite guard. I’m guessing that Warner Bros. He would join Nicholas Hoult, Stanley Tucci and Bill Nighy. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Warner Bros. developing this as a new fantasy adventure franchise trying to capture the interest of Harry Potter fans.
Christopher McQuarrie Hired To Write Star Blazers
Deadline reports that Skydance Productions has hired Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects) to help adapt the anime series Star Blazers into a movie. There is currently a Japanese live-action film based on the series titled Space Battleship Yamato which has been very successful. So it makes sense to move forward with an English version.
The budding production company is aligned with Paramount Pictures similar to the relationship of Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Their current projects include True Grit and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. McQuarrie has recently moved into writing genre based films working on The Wolverine for Darren Aronofsky and Jack The Giant Killer for Bryan Singer. He was also an uncredited writer on the first X-Men film.
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