New image of The Wolverine and details on the pic from director James Mangold

POTENTIAL STORY SPOILERS…but not really.

The new issue of Empire is out today and in it they talk to director James Mangold about his currently filming THE WOLVERINE with Hugh Jackman.  Aside from calling the film “Japanese noir picture with tentpole action in it” the director revealed a bit of a doozy, saying, “Where this film sits in the universe of the films is after them all.  Jean Grey is gone, most of the X-Men are disbanded or gone, so there’s a tremendous sense of isolation for him.”

The resounding thought has been that even though this was a “stand-alone” movie, it would still follow the lineage of X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE.  Apparently not.  And that’s damn fine by me.  Interestingly, though, the story they are modelling THE WOLVERINE after took place much earlier in Wolverine’s history (in the comics).  However, it’s very obvious that they will be jumping around in time, as we’ve seen set pics of World War II camps and the picture below tells a story all its own as those look to be, in fact, Logan’s bone claws.

Have a look:

Mangold went on to say the the story will take place primarily outside of the X-Men’s film continuity as Wolverine falls in love with Mariko, the daughter of gang boss Tao Okamoto, inciting a vicious gang war. “That’s something that for me was very important, that I land in a very specific place in his timeline,” says Mangold. “I wanted to be able to tell the story without the burden of handing it off to a film that already exists and having to conform to it. The ideas of immortality reign very heavily in this story and the burden of immortality weighs heavily on Logan. For me that’s such an interesting part of Logan’s character that is nearly impossible to explore if you have a kind of league or team movie.”

Interesting.  With the recent rumor of Famke Janssen reportedly filming a scene for the film, it leaves me wondering how she fits into the overall timeline.  Compelling stuff, if it’s true.  So far, I’m feeling very confident about THE WOLVERINE. I was anxious in the beginning, but with the bits we’ve seen and heard from the film thus far, my confidence continues to build in the pic.  Like most fans of the character, I just want to see a film that encapsulates all the elements that make him more than just a “mutant with claws.”  It seems very possible we may well get that. 

Here’s the synopsis:

Based on the celebrated comic book arc, THE WOLVERINE finds Logan, the eternal warrior and outsider, in Japan. There, samurai steel will clash with adamantium claw as Logan confronts a mysterious figure from his past in an epic battle that will leave him forever changed.

THE WOLVERINE, Starring Hugh Jackman, Will Yun Lee, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rila Fukushima, and Svelta Khodchenkova cuts into theaters on July 26, 2013.