Twentieth Century Fox has set May 1, 2009, for the release of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," starring actor Hugh Jackman for director Gavin Hood.Hood is the South African director whose 2005 film "Tsotsi" won the best foreign film Oscar.
Based on the Marvel Comics character and Frank "Sin City" Miller's "Weapon X" graphic novels, premise of the film will focus on how 'Logan' emerged from a clandestine experiment to become 'Wolverine'.The film is slated to begin shooting in Australia later this year, with Jackman reprising the role he played in three "X-Men" films.
Following the Australian shoot, the film will move to New Zealand and New Orleans.
Producers are Lauren Shuler Donner, Ralph Winter of "X-Men" movie fame and Jackman, John Palermo through Seed Productions. Marvel's Kevin Feige will executive produce.
The three Canadian-shot "X-Men" films, one in Toronto and two in Vancouver have reportedly grossed more than $1 billion worldwide.''Wolverine substantiates a feature film," Jackman said.
"He's a really intriguing, mysterious, enigmatic character, à la 'Mad Max', 'Dirty Harry', 'Han Solo' - he's that kind of screen antihero.
"I'd love to get into the origins of that character and find out what he's really made of...
Here is a sneak peek at the original "WOLVERINE" script, circulating on the internet, by David Benioff, with a revision by David Ayer. The screenplay is a prequel before the current slate of "X-Men" films, focusing on 'Logan' and the 'Weapon X' program.SPOILERS:
In the 1st four pages we meet Logan as a 12 yr old boy, undersized and 'feral' on a rural road on his way home from school. 4 towering high school football players pick on him because Logan’s dad robbed the local truck stop last year.
Logan doesn’t back down as GILMAN punches him in the face twice. But the gash on Logan’s face heals itself in front of Gilman and three 'bone claws' spring from his hand, serrated and razor sharp. This is the first time that Logan’s bone claws appear to him and he is shocked more than his attackers. As the football players escape, Logan looks at his bone claws and screams…
…Logan in present day wakes up.
It was a dream from his childhood. His girlfriend, 25-year-old KAYLA SILVERFOX, wakes up beside him and calms him down. He shredded the bed sheets, scratching her by accident. Logan reminds her they need new bed sheets.
We cut to the INCITING INCIDENT scene at a Carnival in a New England town .
BEAK hangs out in a trailer with SHERRLENE, plays gin and drinks rum. A knock is heard outside the trailer. Beak opens the door and a towering figure in a long black coat looms beside the trailer’s door.VICTOR CREED (aka 'Sabretooth') is shrouded in the shadows. He grins and his white fangs gleam. Creed has been killing mutants. Beak begs for his life, but Creed kills him anyway.
Back at Logan’s cabin in Canada, he chops wood, smoking a cheap cigar.TWO GOVERNMENT agents in dark suits and black overcoats approach him.
One of the men is STRYKER, a colonel in the Special Forces. The other is CRISTOPH NORD, aka AGENT ZERO who looks more like a death row convict than a military man.
Stryker wants Logan back reminding him he is a born warrior. Logan prefers his $18,500 yearly job as a lumberjack, content to chopping down trees instead of men.
Stryker pitches his new team of men with special qualities like Logan. A team of hunters that go after bad people. But Logan refuses. Stryker warns Logan that mutants like him are being killed. Logan tells Stryker he can take care of himself. Stryker tells Logan to forget about himself, that America needs him.
Logan tells Stryker he's Canadian.
Cut to Logan picking up Kayla at her job as a schoolteacher. He tells her Colonel Stryker wanted him back but he refused.
They go back to their cabin and have a moonlit romantic evening, but outside the cabin, something watches from the dark woods, its black talons carving gashes in the trunk of a pine tree.
We cut to the next morning and Kayla drops off Logan at his job at the logging camp. Then Logan and 3 lumberjacks discover a severed bear’s head swarmed by buzzing flies in the sun. Logan says that a bullet didn’t kill the bear, claws did.
On a narrow access road, Kayla drives her truck and nearly collides with a man in a long black coat. The man’s back is turned to the truck, his head bowed. His hair hangs below his shoulders, clotted with dirt, as if he’s been sleeping in the woods for weeks. Kayla leans out of the open truck window. But before she can speak, the man turns. What is most terrifying is his eyes. They are a shark’s eyes. Black and loveless and utterly inhuman. It’s VICTOR CREED.He walks towards the truck and scrapes his talons over the hood, five parallel gashes carved into the steel.
Back at the timber stand, Logan hears Kayla scream. He runs toward the access road.
Kayla lies dead along the side of the road.
Logan cradles Kayla in his arms, rocking her back and forth, her lifeless body clutched tightly in his arms, his eyes clenched shut. The veins in his neck bulge, every muscle in his body tenses, as if there is a beast inside trying to break free.We cut to Casady’s Bar & Grill where Victor Creed is enjoying Tennessee whiskey.
Logan walks into the tavern, sees Creed sitting on the barstool and all hell breaks loose. The beating is so bad that Logan’s 'healing factor' cannot keep up. Creed crushes Logan’s bone claws and leaves him for dead.
We cut to an emergency room where Logan is brought in. His healing factor saved his life. Stryker is there. Logan wants to know where Creed is. Stryker tells Logan he can find Creed, if Logan agrees to work with him.
We cut to 'Alkali Lake' where a black helicopter lands on a concrete helipad inside the walls of a massive compound. Logan, Stryker and Agent Zero roll out of the chopper.
Cut to a surgical prep room, where Logan lies on his back on an examining table. We meet red-bearded scientist DR. CORNELIUS and Army surgeon CAROL HINES.Stryker leaves and Hines catches up to him in the corridor. Hines is concerned that Logan might not survive the experiment.
We cut to a surgical theater where Hines and two medical technicians accompany Logan to a water filled plexiglass tank the size of a lidless coffin. One wall of the theater is glass. Behind the glass is the control room, where Stryker looks on. Dr. Cornelius and several support staff enter data into computers monitoring the experiment.
Logan removes his robe and hands it to Hines before stepping into the tank of water. One of the technicians fastens a breathing tube, connected to an oxygen tank to Logan’s mouth. Logan lies down, submerging himself in the cold water. The technician clamps Logan’s wrists and ankles into place with stainless-steel shackles bolted to the walls.Logan’s eyes are wide open as he watches robotic arms swivel into place, poised above him like a gang of metal vipers.
In the control room, GENERAL MUNSON stands in the back of the room, observing the experiment with great interest. Agent Zero leans against the back wall, bored, cracking his knuckles.
Logan lies underwater as robotic arms descend towards him, needles spinning at high speed, like massive power drills. They churn the water when they enter.
Logan closes his eyes as the needles enter his body.In the control room, Cornelius gives the order to commence feed.
The technicians enter commands, watching close-up images of the procedure on their monitors. Logan writhes in the tank as twelve long needles drill into his bones and skull... and he screams...
