Although it still has a long road ahead, things are looking up for Wolverine’s next film outing. 20th Century Fox, which still holds the “X-Men” rights Marvel so badly wants back, has set The Wolverine to release on July 26, 2013.
Love him or hate him, the famed mutant played by Hugh Jackman has his following, and it’d appear they are sticking with him. That being said, The Wolverine has already been faced with a mountain of issues, ranging from original director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) bowing out, to the production getting pushed back so Jackman could shoot Les Miserables.
Shooting will likely get underway in Japan under the leadership of director James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma), though plot details are being kept under wraps on Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) and Mark Bomback's (Unstoppable) script (though they wrote separate drafts). Jackman did, however, let slip last year that Wolverine will take on the Silver Samurai.
The release date announcement adds fuel to the comic-based film fire building in 2013: "Wolverine" will be joined by Iron Man 3 in May, Man of Steel in June and Thor 2 in November. But it's better than being the act that follows 2012’s The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises.
