A few days ago we reported Jessica Biel had been offered the role of Viper in director James Mangold’s (Walk the Line) The Wolverine. However, sources have informed us that talks have broken down between Biel and 20th Century Fox and the studio is now talking to other actresses. With production on The Wolverine set to begin next month in Australia and on location in Japan, you can expect a lot more casting news in the coming weeks. Hit the jump for what we know so far about the film.
As Dave reported, recent casting additions have included a number of Japanese actors in pivotal roles (Hiroyuki Sanada, Hal Yamanouchi , Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima).
The Wolverine will reportedly follow the comic book arc from Chris Claremont and Frank Miller in which Wolverine/Logan finds himself as an outsider in Japan. Sanada will play Shingen, a character created by Claremont and Miller, who was a Yakuza crime boss and antagonist to Wolverine. Yamanouchi is reportedly playing a character called Yashida, who may be the head of the Yashida clan to which Shingen belonged. Okamoto will star as Mariko, daughter of Shingen and one-time fiancee to Wolverine. Fukushima is set to play Yukio, one of the deadliest assassins in Shingen’s clan. If the script plays out along the lines of the comic, audiences will be in for a lot of heartbreak, betrayal and dishonor to go along with adamantium claws and mutant healing factor. Sounds like a winning combination.
Getting back to the role of Viper, or Madame Hydra, is said to be of Eastern European descent. The character’s association with Wolverine is complex, involving a forced marriage through blackmail, mortal wounds due to spirit possession and, believe it or not, even actual emotional attachment. This arc would fit in well with the web of betrayal and heartbreak laid out by the other characters in Claremont/Miller story.
The Wolverine is scheduled for release on July 26, 2013.
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Only a win as far as I am concerned. She is fairly crap.
Good. One of the hottest pieces of tail in Hollywood but she’s a shit actress.
Yeah, she is not the kind of actress that inspires much faith in a movie…especially when it seems like the studio has been portraying this as their attempt at making a Wolverine pic that is actually a good movie…they weren’t really trying to make a good movie with the last one,and it wasn’t…but initially hiring Aronofsky makes it seem like the are going for a movie that will have credibility,so it scares me that they would really want a crap actress and then she doesn’t even want it
She’s a pretty decent actress now, since Easy Virtue. But I for one never liked her in action roles. She wasn’t believable in Blade Trinity and from the trailer doesn’t look believable in Total Recall.
Well, her ass is Oscar worthy. We can all agree on that.
This, for the win.
Thank the gods! This is such good news. She’s not a *terrible* actress but certainly nothing special. At all.
Is that an official poster? It’s getting harder and harder to tell what’s fan made and what’s “real”.
Does it matter? It’s a pretty awesome teaser poster, regardless.
In fact, the quality of many fan-made posters these days trumps the studio-funded, Photoshop-bludgeoned ones, IMO. And I’m fine with that.
Seeing Ms. Biel with long, green hair and a leather outfit to match does sound nice. But I, like most here, can live with her departure.
Good.She’s a lame actress and who’s track record suggests she simply doesn’t know how to choose a good movie.Her leaving from this makes me think it might certainly be better than the first.Not to mention that she is Box Office poison.Her delectable behind has a better reputation than her acting,that’s saying a lot…
I have no faith in these movies, these guys don’t seem to understand what makes a good film.
I’m not sure if you are referring to the X-Men producers, 20th Century FOX, Jackman or Mangold in particular– that’s a pretty broad and fairly generic criticism.
Out of all the directors attached to the X-Men franchise since Singer, Mangold gives me the most hope because of his filmography. I’m as bummed as anybody that Aronofsky won’t be making it, but Mangold is solid.
Fox has shown that they are not the most competent when handling this franchise, but with a solid director at the helm (unlike Wolverine: Origins’ Gavin Hood) this should be a good flick.
“If the script plays out along the lines of the comic, audiences will be in for a lot of heartbreak, betrayal and dishonor to go along with adamantium claws and mutant healing factor.”
I thought in the previous movie it was shown that he had bone claws up to when he was brought into the Weapon-X program and had adamantium injected throughout his body. He should still have bone claws in this movie.
This story takes place after Weapon X. He shouldn’t have bone claws. Incidentally, the bone claws thing wasn’t invented until Wolverine had already been around for about 25 years, and 20 years after this original mini-series was written.
Bone claws were introduced after Wolverine had the metal stripped from his skeleton by Magneto. Previously even Wolverine thought his metal claws were artificially inserted. So until that happens in the film version, no bone claws.