‘Wolverine’ Sequel In The Works, Hugh Jackman Set To Return

Director James Mangold and Hugh Jackman are reportedly in talks for another Wolverine movie for the comic book-obsessed folks at 20th Century Fox.

Since the Girl, Interrupted director’s superhero flick made a decent amount of money from moviegoers around the world, the studio is trying to hammer out a deal with the director and the star for another go-around. According to Coming Soon, both guys are presently expected to return for another outing with the popular character.

Considering The Wolverine is the second highest grossing X-Men film to come down the cinematic pipeline, it’s not surprising that 20th Century Fox wants to put together another adventure. The film’s box office total is second only to Rush Hour director Brett Ratner’s much-maligned X-Men: The Last Stand.

Deadline reports that the studio wants James Mangold to put together a treatment for the new Wolverine movie. Lauren Shuler Donner, who previously helped out with a number of films in the franchise, is also expected to return for the superhero’s next solo flick.

Those looking for some plot details won’t have much to chew on at the moment. The folks at 20th Century Fox are understandably keeping the story under wraps for the time being. However, expect plenty of insiders and anonymous sources to weigh in on the matter sometime very soon.

After the disaster that was director Gavin Hood’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, James Mangold got things back on track with this summer’s outing. Not only were fans satisfied with the filmmaker’s effort, critics also seemed impressed with the way the picture turned out.

Mangold told Slashfilm earlier this year that he didn’t want to focus solely on the superhero aspect. The director also said he wasn’t held back by telling an origin story.

The filmmaker told the website:

“I think for me there were a lot of opportunities in the movie. It was less about the fact that [the story of Wolverine] was a Japanese saga as well [instead] it allowed the chance to do the version you would like to see. I think this film, one of its advantages for me and I think a tougher thing for the first one; you’re unburdened by the origin story. I mean the origin story is awesome but it’s very hard [to pull off].”

It’s unknown when 20th Century Fox hopes to have the next Wolverine movie ready to roll. Fans of Hugh Jackman can catch him as the character once again in Bryan Singer’s upcoming superhero epic X-Men: Days of Future Past.

[Image via 20th Century Fox]