‘Wolverine’ director James Mangold assures fans the film draws on Miller, Claremont source material
After the failed “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” film, Hugh Jackman gets another chance to bring the popular X-Men to the big screen in “The Wolverine.” Director James Mangold poignantly deals with the comic book mythos and the influences of Frank Miller and Chris Claremont in the comic books.
During an interview with EW’s CapeTown published Tuesday, he addresses the comic’s original storyline and playing with Wolverine’s vulnerability and emotional baggage.
“A lot of that story and a lot of beats from that saga are in there — and a lot of characters,” Mangold said about including the Claremont/Miller source material.
“Without being religious about it, I think it’s a very admiring adaptation. Obviously when you’re adapting anything you make some changes. But all the characters are there – Yukio, Viper, Mariko, Shingen, and Logan obviously. The whole cast of characters that exist in that world exists in our film.”
Jackman had already stated the film is post “X-Men Last Stand” and the “Walk the Line” director confirms the fact, but says it’s not a sequel to “Last Stand.”
“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.”
Mangold commented on avoiding the constraints of a prequel.
“I felt the most liberating thing about coming after the other movies is you don’t have to hand it off or end it in some way that meets up with a previous film. For creative freedom, I didn’t want to have to, essentially, land this film in Wichita because that’s where the next one takes off from. It helped me to be really free, and in some ways be more loyal to Claremont/Miller, without having to be tied to other films.”
“The Wolverine” involves complicated relationships between him and Yukio (Rila Fukushima), a female ninja who works for crime boss Shingen (Hiroyuki Sanada), who … happens to be the father of Wolverine’s other love, Mariko (Tao Okamoto). Also in the mix is Viper (rumored to be played by Svetlana Khodchenkova), a female villain who has another love-hate relationship with Wolverine.
The film arrives in theaters on July 26, 2013.
