Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like The Wolverine is back on track. After Darren Aronofsky dropped out as director, and natural disasters ravaged Japan (the desired shooting location) it looked like Foxâs X-Men Origins: Wolverine sequel might be delayed for quite some time. After an extensive director search, James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma) was hired to helm the project, and now speaking with Toronto radio station CHFI (via The Playlist), Jackman stated that filming will commence this October:
âWe shoot in October, so it will probably come out a year after that. Thatâs usually around the timeline.â
So not only is the film shooting this year, it may even hit theaters in 2012. Jackman also told the radio station that director Tom Hooperâs (The Kingâs Speech) big-budget musical adaptation of Les Miserables wonât shoot until next year. Hit the jump for more.
Itâs still unknown whether the plan remains to shoot on location in Japan, where Christopher McQuarrieâs script takes place. When Jackman gave an update in March, he said it was still too early to tell regarding the Japan situation. While the actor sounds hopeful, Iâd be surprised if The Wolverine actually makes a 2012 release date, given that itâs most likely fairly VFX-heavy. Iâd much rather Mangold and Fox take their time to make the film right, rather than rushing a less-than-great version of The Wolverine just to get it into theaters next year.
Jackman signed on to Les Miserables earlier this month, and heâs poised to take on the role of Jean Valjean, with Paul Bettany in negotiations to play the nefarious Javert. Hooper is coming off of a Best Director and Best Picture win with The Kingâs Speech, so itâll be interesting to see how he handles a large-scale musical.