The Wolverine

The Wolverine is a movie now in development, intended to be a stand alone film rather than a sequel to 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Cast

 * Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine
 * Tao Okamoto as Mariko Yashida
 * Will Yun Lee as Kenuichio Harada/Silver Samurai
 * An as-of-yet unknown actress as Viper
 * Rila Fukushima as Yukio
 * Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Shingen
 * Hal Yamanouchi as Yashida
 * Brian Tee as Norubo Mori

Development
It will be produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Marvel, and Hugh Jackman is slated to return for the sequel. Hood speculated that there will be a sequel, which will be set in Japan. During one of the end credits scenes Logan is seen drinking at a bar in Japan. Such a location was the subject of Claremont and Miller's series, which was not in the first film as Jackman felt "what we need to do is establish who "Logan" is and find out how he became Wolverine". Jackman stated the Claremont-Miller series is his favorite Wolverine story. Of the Japanese arc, Jackman also stated that:

“..there are so many areas of that Japanese story, I love the idea of this kind of anarchic character, the outsider, being in this world - I can see it aesthetically, too - full of honor and tradition and customs and someone who’s really anti-all of that, and trying to negotiate his way. The idea of the samurai, too - and the tradition there. It’s really great. In the comic book he gets his ass kicked by a couple of samurai - not even mutants. He’s shocked by that at first.”

Jackman added that another Wolverine film would be a follow-up rather than continuing on from X-Men: The Last Stand. The inclusion of Deadpool and Gambit also leads to the possibilities of their own spin-offs. Before Wolverine's release, Lauren Shuler Donner approached Simon Beaufoy to write the script, but he did not feel confident enough to commit. On May 5, just two days after its initial weekend run, the sequel was officially confirmed.

Christopher McQuarrie, who went uncredited for his work on X-Men, was hired to write the screenplay for the Wolverine sequel in August 2009.

Darren Aronofsky was announced as director of the film but had relinquished his position to spend time with his family.

Trivia

 * Producer Lauren Shuler Donner approached writer Simon Beaufoy to write the script, but Beaufoy did not feel confident enough to commit.
 * Hugh Jackman is a self-confessed fan of the Chris Claremont-Frank Miller "Wolverine" comic (1982), especially the Japanese saga: "There are so many areas of that Japanese story. I love the idea of this kind of anarchic character, the outsider, being in this world full of honor and tradition and customs; someone who's really anti-all of that, and trying to negotiate his own way. The idea of the samurai too, and the tradition there - it's really great. In the comic book he gets his ass kicked by a couple of samurai - not even mutants."
 * Originally the mutant samurai Psylocke was going to be in this film and Priyanka Chopra was considered for the role, but she was written out of the script.
 * Darren Aronofsky was originally set to direct, but pulled out as the long overseas shoot would prevent him from seeing his family.