devilshalo

McQuarrie takes on 'Wolverine'
'Usual Suspects' scribe worked on first 'X-Men'
By MICHAEL FLEMING

Christopher McQuarrie has been tapped by 20th Century Fox to write the sequel to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," the film that Hugh Jackman is developing to reprise his role as razor-clawed protag Logan.

The studio hasn't yet determined timing or whether Gavin Hood will return as director. McQuarrie has a history with "X-Men," as he worked on the first film with director Bryan Singer but didn't take a credit.

He pitched his take several days ago for a storyline that is set in Japan and based on the Chris Claremont-Frank Miller comicbook series "The Samurai." Story centers on Logan's evolution into a samurai.

Jackman is producing with John Palermo and Lauren Shuler Donner. McQuarrie most recently scripted and produced "Valkyrie."

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So are we to expecting to see Yukio, the Silver Samurai and Lady Mariko?

For those that are not knowledgeable of the 4 issue run by Claremont and Miller.... click here, bub!

islandclaws

Good choice of writer. I wonder if this one will suck less than the first? I mean, it couldn't possibly be worse, could it?

RocShemp

Didn't Silver Samurai have some sort of participation in that story arc? I wonder what obscure X-Men villain of the 60's/70's they can morph him into during the last 20 minutes of the sequel.

But in all seriousness, it always amuses me when they list a writer's past work in a different genre as a positive thing. Yes, Christopher McQuarrie delivered a solid script for Valkyrie but that doesn't mean he'd automatically write a good script about a comic book superhero. Though, truth be told, I hope he does knock it outta the park.

fumanstan

I actually enjoyed Wolverine, so I'm looking forward to another. Hopefully a decent writer is a good start.

GoldenJCJ

I thought the X-Men Origins movies were going to focus on different characters, not just Wolverine. Wasn't something like X-Men Origins: Magneto next?

superdeluxe

Don't jinx it.

Snowmaker

Forget a sequel. I say give the franchise a reboot.

Artman

I don't think any others characters will sell by themselves... heck, even for Wolverine they threw in as many as they could, which was one of the problems imo. I'd rather get the First Class film, or a 4th X-Men.

Mondo Kane

Hopefully, this one will have better effects.

Giantrobo

Yump.

riley_dude

Oh no. What a horrible idea. The first Wolverine movie was so bad.
Does Hugh Jackman really need the money that bad????

lopper

Meh. It's hard for me to get excited about just the writer. Nowadays it seems that there's just so many writers credited to a film by the time it hits the screen.

Who knows how much of what McWhatshisname will actually end up in the final film.

Sonic

They need to put Hugh Jackman in the orange and brown Wolverine uniform with the cool face mask!

JediMindTricks

origins: magento would be very interesting. but i guess it's just not enough to appeal to a mass audience?

i'll watch a woverine 2 if they make it, though.

Deftones

considering Wolvie is the franchise XMen character, the movie didn't light up the box office. They are probably hesitant to put secondary characters into a movie unless they are sure they can make a quality product and make money.

FantasticVSDoom

Well, they could always cast Fergie as Yukio... That may do it.

RocShemp

You, sir, will have a long lasting future at Fox Studios.

My Other Self

This to me was such a boring part of Logan's past. I think this one will be a snoozer.

Hokeyboy

Why. Even. Bother.

I'm so over the X-Men/Wolverine movies. We need fresh blood, a fresh take, new actors, and studio committed to producing something unique and exciting. With the exception of much of X2, these films have been utter shit.

RocShemp

They weren't utter shit. Just decent.

I like the core cast but a reboot may be needed. Or perhaps a First Class approach, as Artman mentioned. But only if said prequel brings something new to the table. Perhaps setting up a story arc that would be resolved in an X-Men 4.

In fact, that's what these origin films need. It's okay that they stand alone but they should add something to the overall arc other than showing us stuff that was talked about in the previous movies.

Supermallet

I love how people talk about a reboot as if that's automatically going to guarantee a quality movie. The real problem is Fox.

RocShemp

I know what you mean, Suprmallet. I find reboots have now become a crutch but I feel this approach to the characters has run its course. Either they get back on track or let someone else take a different approach at the franchise.

That's why I'm inclined toward a First Class approach. It needn't be a reboot but it would make it feel fresh nonetheless. Especially if, as I mentioned before, they take advantage of these prequels to set up a major story arc that would climax in a third sequel.

UAIOE

This has been a problem for a great number of years.

Hokeyboy

The "universe" created in these films is tainted and, quite frankly, boring. With a history as diverse and as rich as the X-Men's (of which I'm not even the biggest fan, but I appreciate it nonetheless) we've had Magneto be the big bad villain twice, and Stryker twice as well. Yes reboots have been a "crutch" but when done we the reignite and reinvigorate a franchise beautifully (Batman Begins and Casino Royale are two fantastic examples of this).

I'd like to see X-films harken back to the roots of the Wein/Claremont/Cockrum/Byrne stories. Make them lean, hard, unforgiving. Remove the gloss. You don't have to make them ultra-gritty and grim (there's room for spectacle, wonder, and humor) but remove much of the gloss and sheen. Cast unknowns, keep Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman away since, being the "big name stars", all the stories have to focus around them.

I dunno. Or just pull the plug entirely and focus on some new property entirely. These films are mostly terrible anyhow, without new vision and new ideas they are going to continue to stagnate.

Supermallet

I don't see what's so tainted about the series, except that the last two movies sucked. But that's due to a lack of creativity (and Fox's inept executive decisions don't help in that department), not a problem inherent to the world Singer made in the first two movies. There are so many stories not yet told from the comics that a reboot feels needless. Just get some people who know what they're doing creatively, keep Fox out of their way, and you'll get something much better than Wolverine and X3.

And yes, Batman Begins, Casino Royale, and Star Trek were all wonderful reboots that reinvigorated their respective franchises. But all three franchises were considered to be dead weight by the time of the reboot, and each one had several years off before the reboot began. The flipside of it is The Incredible Hulk. While a good movie on its own, it came out too close to the original, and thus people didn't see it as a new entity, just a sequel with different casting. But do that with X-Men, which is far more popular than Hulk, and I think you'll find a backlash from the casual fans, who are really the ones that make these things into hits.