x-men origins Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Yesterday MTV reported a story from the Teen Choice Awards that Hugh Jackman was already working on a follow-up to this summer's X-Men spinoff, Wolverine. "Japan is where we're heading, [and] we're starting to work on it now," Jackman said in a taped interview. "We're in ... the first steps of developing that story."

Suffice it to say that the first film was not universally well-received, so a sequel might give the filmmakers more time to put together something better-suited and more faithful to the character's illustrious comic book legacy. While Jackman didn't officially confirm that the film would follow the storyline of the 1982 miniseries that catapulted the character from supporting player to superstar, he observed that could certainly be a jumping off point for the film: "I think the fans love that saga," he said. "It's my favorite saga of the Wolverine stories. That's a movie I've longed to make from the beginning, so that's where we're heading."

The question is, does that aspect of his back story really matter any more?

My busy schedule of late has kept me out of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine loop, though based on our own Elisabeth Rappe's comments and our 1-10 Scale poll, it would appear as if most of you weren't crazy about the movie. It's too bad, really, and hopefully Fox will listen to the fans and inject some of their say into the next Wolverine movie (and Deadpool movie), but I'd venture to say that not all bad has come from the new mutant release. If anything, the film has inspired a whole bunch of bored dudes to create their own homemade Wolverine claws -- and then proceed to either dance in front of a camera or punch the living crap out of a poor old cardboard box. Oh, and don't forget the horrific costumes that go along with those claws.

Is it just me, or is there something very creepy about building your own homemade Wolverine claws, filming yourself with said Wolverine claws in different positions and then uploading that video to YouTube so people can immediately say, "Um ... this seems a bit not safe." Then again, maybe everyone is doing this and I'm just a silly Nancy Boy who's scared of real-life weapons inspired by make-believe characters. Feel free to browse the videos below (more after the jump) and let us know what you think: Harmless fan fun or psychotic stalker boyfriend in training?

Walking around Preview Night here at San Diego Comic Con and, well, we kinda stumbled upon this poster (click image to enlarge) for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The film wasn't supposed to have a major presence here at Con, so it's nice to at least see a poster for the flick, which hits theaters on May 1, 2009. We'll have a whole bunch of photos for you from Preview Night here at Con in just a little bit -- in the meantime, what do you think about this poster? Does it get you excited for the film? Starring Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber and Danny Huston, X-Men Origins: Wolverine will claw its way into theaters next summer.

For complete coverage of the 2008 San Diego International Comic Con, check out the official Cinematical Comic Con Hub.

George Roush over at Latino Review grabbed one crazy exclusive. While touring the creature effects shop for Hellboy II: The Golden Army, he spotted a photo of a familiar X-Man: Hank McCoy, aka Beast. (Non comic book nerds may remember him as Kelsey Grammar with blue fur.)

It was not a drawing, but an actual photo, possibly computer generated. (Roush thinks it was an actual person in a Beast getup, though.) It was unmistakably of a young Beast, leaping through the air. And it was tagged Magneto.

Roush casually asked what the heck that was all about, and was told in a "isn't it obvious" way, "This is young Beast from the prequel they're gonna be doing. Magneto."

There's no real explanation as to what McCoy would be doing in a Magneto storyline, or how they would meet up. It is as random a choice of mutant as we're seeing with another X-Men: Origins film. I don't get it. Both Magneto and Wolverine are strong enough to stand on their own two storylines, which is why they were chosen for origin films in the first place. Is there some studio clause stipulating that they must choose a certain number of mutants to accompany the title character? It cannot be coincidence. I am willing to bet it means there will never be an X-Men 4, and that they are using these guest-star appearances to float more spin-offs. I'm probably overthinking that, and it is just a way to make more action figures.

Hugh Jackman has been doing lots of press junkets for Deception -- and funnily enough, only Australia seems to be hearing about that film, whereas America is only letting him talk about X-Men Origins: Wolverine again and again. That has to be a bit of a bummer.

MTV Movies caught up with him, and he was more than happy to talk about donning the claws again. "It feels different. But I don't think its going be night and day."

Then he gave one of those quotes that I always hold out as proof that he knows what he is doing. "We are dealing with a character who is probably one of the darker comic book characters ever created. The movie has a lot of fun elements, but there are layers of pain and darkness to this character. Tonally, I would put it more in the Batman Begins sort of realm. That's sort of where we're headed."
He's seen Batman Begins! Between this and his ongoing graphic novel grabs, I think the man is a bonafide geek.

While doing the publicity rounds for Deception, Hugh Jackman talked a bit about X-Men Origins: Wolverine to The Herald Sun, specifically praising his young costar, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and his director, Gavin Hood. (The subject of his muttonchops comes up too -- apparently, they aren't popular in his private life. And here I was hoping Jackman could bring them into fashion.)

That talk of McPhee being replaced with Troye Sivan must have been false, or we're seeing two young Logans which is entirely probable. Jackman is full of praise for the young actor he handpicked to play his younger self. "He's one of those kids who's fearless. I hope he doesn't read this article because yes, there is pressure on him because of who he's playing and the expectations of fans. I was lucky to be completely ignorant of fans' expectations and the whole world before X-Men came out. I just hope he doesn't read too much or go on the internet because he naturally has the goods I know the fans will love."

It's been quiet on the X-Men Origins: Wolverine front -- too quiet. I demand a new publicity still! But since Hugh Jackman doesn't listen to me (and why should he?), this is all I've got for you.

There's been a new casting addition. According to his personal website, British actor Scott Adkins has landed the role of Weapon 11. What a hodgepodge of comics this is going to be! Weapon 11 first showed up in Grant Morrison's New X-Men series, which turned the whole Weapon X story inside out. Turns out, Logan wasn't just Weapon X because it sounded cool -- he was the tenth in a long line of Weapon Plus experimental super soldiers. It caused a bit of controversy and still does, especially as various Marvel characters are revealed to be Weapon Gazillion in every other issue.

The odd thing is, no one knows who Weapon 11 actually is. We just know he is a badass who has managed to beat Sabretooth senseless, which is no small feat. But now we know it was a guy named Scott Adkins. Mystery solved!

Rumors, more rumors ... and I wonder what Brendan Fraser is doing for Chanukah ...

According to Lying in the Gutters, plans are currently in the works to send the X-Men universe straight to DVD. Not talking about the highly-anticipated Wolverine or Magneto flicks -- those will remain on the big screen; however, they may take some other, lesser-known X-Men characters (like the one based on me -- Lazy Fat Man) and shovel out a series of lower-budgeted DVDs. Additionally, and this may or may not be related, director Joe Carnahan recently teased readers of his blog with an image of Juggernaut, followed by the line "I'll let you guys go nuts on this one." Could he be in line to helm or produce a Juggernaut DVD spin-off? Or is that his way of telling us Vinnie Jones (who played Juggernaut in the film) was cast in one of his two upcoming flicks, Killing Pablo or White Jazz? Guess we'll know more soon ... [via JoBlo]

It's been rumored for months now that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (did you see the newly released pics?) will involve some sort of alien encounter. Well, according to Movieweb, they claim to have inside knowledge on the aliens featured, and -- guess what -- we've seen them before. Yup, I won't spoil the entire what-to-do, but let's just say director Steven Spielberg might be looking to pay homage to an older film of his by including the same creatures in his latest adventure. While it's only a rumor, Spielberg is known for doing stuff like this in a number of his films, so I wouldn't put it past him. Question is: Will it turn out to be totally lame, or, even better, will anyone even get the reference? Head over to Movieweb for the complete spoiler-ish rundown. [via Moviehole]

Director Rob Cohen has been pimping out his latest film, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, over on the film's official blog for awhile now; shoveling out images, videos, what have you. And in case you still don't know a thing about the flick ("Doesn't it star Brendan Fraser as a Jewish kid who fights Mummies in Asia?"), then you'll want to check out this brand new synopsis for the franchise's third installment. Here's a taste: "Brendan Fraser returns as explorer Rick O'Connell to combat the resurrected Han Emperor (Jet Li) in an epic that races from the catacombs of ancient China high into the frigid Himalayas." Okay, but what about the part when Matt Damon gets called a prick?

Talk of a Wolverine movie have been ongoing since (I think) right after X2 came out, and the project has been moving forward (slowly but surely) since that time. Now comes word from Variety that the Hugh Jackman spinoff project has claimed a release date, changed its title (slightly), and promises some new mutants that we haven't seen yet ... as well as some old young friends.

May 1, 2009, is when the Gavin Hood-directed Fox action movie will make its debut, and when it arrives it'll most likely be called X-Men Origins: Wolverine -- which means we can probably expect to hear some fresh news about X-Men Origins: Magneto some time soon. It also looks like Liev Schreiber is close to signing on as William Stryker. Yes, he'll be playing the younger version of the Brian Cox character from X2.

According to Variety, the story "explores the claw-wielding character Wolverine's violent and romantic past, and his complex relationship with Victor Creed and the ominous Weapon X program, as well as his encounters with other mutants." (The Wolverine screenplay comes from Troy writer David Benioff.) And since Mr. Hood is presently scheduled to shoot some of Wolverine in New Orleans, that's led to some speculation that Gambit may be among the new mutants.

For (lots) of previous reports on Wolverine, just toss the word "wolverine" into our search bar and get comfortable.