The Wolverine is a 2013 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Wolverine. It is the sixth installment in the X-Men film series, a spin-off/sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), and the second Wolverine solo film following X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). The film was directed by James Mangold and written by Scott Frank and Mark Bomback. Hugh Jackman stars as Logan / Wolverine, alongside Svetlana Khodchenkova, Rila Fukushima, Tao Okamoto, Hiroyuki Sanada, Will Yun Lee and Famke Janssen. Following the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, Logan travels to Japan, where he engages an old acquaintance in a struggle that has lasting consequences. Stripped of his healing powers, Wolverine must battle deadly samurai while struggling with guilt over Jean Grey's death.
The film's development began in 2009 after the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Christopher McQuarrie was hired to write a screenplay for The Wolverine in August 2009. In October 2010, Darren Aronofsky was hired to direct the film. The project was delayed following Aronofsky's departure and the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. In June 2011, Mangold was brought on board to replace Aronofsky. Bomback was then hired to rewrite the screenplay in September 2011. The supporting characters were cast in July 2012 with principal photography beginning at the end of the month around New South Wales before moving to Tokyo in August 2012 and back to New South Wales in October 2012. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.
The Wolverine was released by 20th Century Fox in various international markets on July 24, 2013, and in the United States two days later. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its action sequences, production design, Jackman's performance, and thematic profundity, though criticism was directed towards the climax. The film grossed $414 million worldwide, making it the sixth-highest-grossing film in the series. A third film titled Logan was released on March 3, 2017.
Plot
In August 1945, Logan is held in a Japanese POW camp near Nagasaki. During the city's atomic bombing, Logan saved an officer named Ichirō Yashida by shielding him from the blast.
In the present day, Logan has left the X-Men and lives as a hermit in the Yukon, tormented by hallucinations of Jean Grey, whom he was forced to kill to save the world. He is located by Yukio, a mutant with the ability to foresee people's deaths, on behalf of Yashida, now the CEO of a technology zaibatsu. Yashida, who is dying of cancer, wants Logan to accompany Yukio to Japan so that he may repay his life debt. In Tokyo, Logan meets Yashida's son Shingen and granddaughter Mariko. There, Yashida offers to transfer Logan's healing abilities into his own body, thus saving Yashida's life and alleviating Logan of his near-immortality, which Logan views as a curse. Believing he is acting in his friend's best interests, Logan refuses and prepares to leave the following day. That night, Yashida's physician Dr. Green poisons Logan while he sleeps, but Logan dismisses it as a dream.
The next morning, Yukio informs Logan that Yashida has died. At the funeral, the Yakuza attempts to kidnap Mariko, but Logan and Mariko escape together into the urban sprawl of Tokyo. Logan is shot, and his wounds do not heal as quickly as they should. After fighting off more Yakuza on a bullet train, Logan and Mariko hide in a local love hotel. Meanwhile, Yashida's bodyguard Harada meets with Dr. Green, who, after demonstrating her mutant powers on him, demands he find Logan and Mariko. Logan and Mariko travel to Yashida's house in Nagasaki, and the two fall in love. Meanwhile, Yukio has a vision of Logan dying and goes to warn him. Before Yukio arrives, Mariko is captured by the Yakuza. After interrogating one of the kidnappers, Logan and Yukio confront Mariko's fiancé, corrupt Minister of Justice Noburo Mori. Mori confesses that he conspired with Shingen to have the Yakuza kidnap Mariko because Ichirō left control of the company to Mariko and not Shingen.
Mariko is brought before Shingen at Yashida's estate when ninjas led by Harada attack and whisk her away. Logan and Yukio arrive later and, using Yashida's X-ray machine, discover a robotic parasite attached to Logan's heart, suppressing his healing ability. Logan cuts himself open and extracts the device. During the operation, Shingen attacks, but Yukio holds him off long enough for Logan to recover and kill him. Logan follows Mariko's trail to the village of Yashida's birth, where Harada's ninjas capture him. Logan is placed in a machine by Dr. Green, who reveals her plans to extract his healing factor and introduces him to the Silver Samurai, an electromechanical suit of Japanese armor with energized katanas made of adamantium. Mariko escapes from Harada, who believes he is acting in Mariko's interests, and manages to free Logan from the machine. Harada sees the error of his ways but is killed by the Silver Samurai while helping Logan escape.
Meanwhile, Yukio arrives and kills Dr. Green. As Logan fights the Silver Samurai, it severs Logan's adamantium claws and begins to extract his healing abilities, revealing himself to be Yashida, who had faked his death. Yashida regains his youth, but Mariko intervenes and stabs Yashida with Logan's severed claws. Logan regenerates his bone claws and kills Yashida by throwing him from a platform. Logan collapses and has one final hallucination of Jean, in which he decides to finally let her go. Mariko becomes CEO of Yashida Industries and bids Logan farewell as he prepares to leave Japan. Yukio vows to stay by Logan's side as his bodyguard, and they depart to places unknown.
In a mid-credits scene, Logan returns to the United States two years later and is approached at the airport by Erik Lehnsherr, who warns him of a weapon humans are creating that would bring an end to the mutant race. Logan refuses to believe him until Charles Xavier, who was presumed dead, reveals himself to be working alongside Lehnsherr.
Cast Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine: A mutant and former member of the X-Men, whose prodigious healing abilities and adamantium infused skeleton combine to make him virtually immortal. Tao Okamoto as Mariko Yashida: Yashida's granddaughter, whose life becomes threatened as a result of her grandfather's will. Rila Fukushima as Yukio: A mutant who has precognitive abilities and one of the deadliest assassins in Yashida's clan. Svetlana Khodchenkova as Viper / Dr. Green: A mutant working for Yashida who can expel toxins from her mouth. Brian Tee as Noburo Mori: A corrupt minister of justice, who is engaged to Mariko. Will Yun Lee as Kenuichio Harada: A former lover of Mariko and head of the Black Ninja Clan, sworn to protect the Yashida family. Famke Janssen as Jean Grey: A mutant, former member and former medical doctor of the X-Men who was killed by Logan. She appears as a hallucination to Logan throughout the film. Hiroyuki Sanada as Shingen Yashida: Yashida's son as well as Mariko's father and corporate rival, who is proficient in kendo. Haruhiko Yamanouchi as Ichiro Yashida: Shingen's father, Mariko's grandfather and the founder of Yashida Industries, a powerful technology zaibatsu. Yashida is based on the comic characters Silver Samurai and Ogun. Ken Yamamura portrays a young Yashida in the film's opening scene during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
Archive audio of Lynn Collins from X-Men Origins: Wolverine is used to represent her character Kayla Silverfox during a dream being had by Logan, while Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen reprise their roles as Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto in cameo appearances during the mid-credits scene. Halle Berry appears as Storm in a still image.
Production
Development
In September 2007, Gavin Hood, director of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, speculated that there would be a sequel, which would be set in Japan. During one of the post-credits scenes of the film, Logan / Wolverine is seen drinking at a bar in Japan. Such a location was the subject of Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's 1982 limited series on the character, which was not in the first film as Hugh Jackman felt "what we need to do is establish who [Logan] is and find out how he became Wolverine". Jackman stated the Claremont-Miller series is his favorite Wolverine story. Of the Japanese arc, Jackman also stated, "I won't lie to you, I have been talking to writers... I'm a big fan of the Japanese saga in the comic book". During filming of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Jackman assured Kevin Durand that he would come back as Fred J. Dukes / The Blob in the sequel, with his character now being the sumo wrestling champion of Japan when Wolverine visits Tokyo, but these plans never panned out as Durand reflected in 2024. Before X-Men Origins: Wolverines release, Lauren Shuler Donner approached Simon Beaufoy to write the script, but he did not feel confident enough to commit. By May 4, 2009, Jackman's company Seed Productions was preparing several projects, including a sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine to be set in Japan, but neither Jackman nor Seed has a production credit on the completed 2013 sequel. On May 5, 2009, just days after the opening weekend of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the sequel was officially confirmed.
Christopher McQuarrie, who went uncredited for his work on X-Men, was hired to write the screenplay for the Wolverine sequel in August 2009. According to Shuler-Donner, the sequel would focus on the relationship between Wolverine and Mariko, the daughter of a Japanese crime lord, and what happens to him in Japan. Wolverine would have a different fighting style due to Mariko's father having "this stick-like weapon. There'll be samurai, ninja, katana blades, different forms of martial arts—mano-a-mano, extreme fighting". She continued: "We want to make it authentic so I think it's very likely we'll be shooting in Japan. I think it's likely the characters will speak English rather than Japanese with subtitles". In January 2010, at the People's Choice Awards, Jackman stated that the film would start shooting sometime in 2011, and in March 2010, McQuarrie declared that the screenplay was finished for production to start in January the following year. Sources indicated Darren Aronofsky was in negotiations to direct the film after Bryan Singer turned down the offer.
Pre-production
In October 2010, Jackman confirmed that Aronofsky would direct the film. Jackman commented that with Aronofsky directing, Wolverine 2 will not be "usual" stating, "This is, hopefully for me, going to be out of the box. It's going to be the best one, I hope... Well, I would say that, but I really do feel that, and I feel this is going to be very different. This is Wolverine. This is not Popeye. He's kind of dark... But, you know, this is a change of pace. Chris McQuarrie, who wrote The Usual Suspects, has written the script, so that'll give you a good clue. [Aronofsky's] going to make it fantastic. There's going to be some meat on the bones. There will be something to think about as you leave the theater, for sure". The film was scheduled to begin principal photography in March 2011 in New York City before the production moves to Japan for the bulk of shooting.
While Jackman in 2008 had characterized the film as "a sequel to Origins", Aronofsky in November 2010 said the film, now titled The Wolverine, was a "one-off" rather than a sequel. Also in November, Fox Filmed Entertainment sent out a press release stating that they have signed Aronofsky and his production company Protozoa Pictures to a new two-year, overall deal. Under the deal, Protozoa would develop and produce films for both 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures. Aronofsky's debut picture under the pact would have been The Wolverine.