James Mangold may not seem like the obvious choice to direct a film like THE WOLVERINE. In fact, he wasn’t the first choice; Darren Aronofsky was. But when that iteration of the film fell apart, star and producer Hugh Jackman brought Mangold aboard, with whom he worked with on KATE & LEOPOLD. And if the man has Jackman’s blessing, well, who is going to argue?
The fact is, Mangold is a pretty good choice for the film. THE WOLVERINE is not the all-out action CGI-fest that most of the superhero films we see nowadays resemble. Instead, it’s a moody, low-key thriller, one suited for a director used to focusing on character-driven dramas. Here is our chat with Mr. Mangold; we talk about picking up where Aronofsky left off, the pressure of tackling such a project, and collaborating with Jackman on bringing THE WOLVERINE to life once again.