James Mangold Promises 'Character' Wolverine Movie


Director James Mangold is looking forward to working on 'The Wolverine' because he can make it a ''character movie'' about the titular character.

'The Wolverine' will be a "character" movie.

Director James Mangold - who replaced Darren Aronofsky at the helm of the Hugh Jackman-starring Marvel film - is relishing the chance to tackle the latest big screen adventure of the comic book hero because he doesn't have to use the project to explain a backstory but can instead develop the character further.

He said: "It really was a simple choice to jump on board and take this thing on... at this moment when they actually want to explore the character.

"You can actually just tell a story about this amazing character from the start, just the way they do when you read a comic. It isn't an origin story, so I'm freed from that burden, and it also isn't a save-the-world movie, which most of them are. It's actually a character piece; it has more in common with 'The Outlaw' and 'Chinatown'. We're not crowded with cutting to nine other action heroes. We can really make a movie about this dude."

James has also revealed the movie has a strong Japanese influence and elements of a "detective story and drama".

He told The Playlist: "This movie is an intense psychological and action-packed character piece. It's much more about Logan getting lost in these very insulated worlds of Japanese culture, gangster culture, and ninja culture. The fighting is all influenced by Japanese martial arts, and half of the characters in this movie speak Japanese. This is like a foreign-language superhero movie; it's as much a drama and a detective story and a film noir as it is anything like a conventional tentpole film."

Shooting is scheduled to begin next spring, with the film due for release in 2013.