THE WOLVERINE - Hugh Jackman and James Mangold on Fighting in the Film
Hugh Jackman and director James Mangold seem very excited to show us what they've done with The Wolverine. The first trailer for the film hits theaters near the end of the month and I'm hoping to be blown away. In a recent interview with Total Film Jackman, Mangold, and Will Yun Lee (Silver Samurai) discuss the fighting in the film, and if the brutality of it will cause problems with the censors.
Let's start out with Yun Lee talking about seeing Jackman fight in the film,
I've seen playbacks of Hugh fighting different characters in the movie he's no joke! He's probably in the best shape I've ever seen him in all the X-Mens.
Of course Jackman had to work his ass off to get in shape and be able to pull off some of these fight moves. Jackman went on to discuss his training for the movie,
The fighting style in the this movie is very Japanese-specific. The movie's stunt team 8711 is probably one of the best in the business. In training they beat me up all day and I could barely even walk home! Because we're dealing with weapons like swords and Wolverine's claws, even though they're fake, you're still just a fraction away from getting hurt or getting hit in the eye...I was like, 'Oh my god, I better not miss my timing.
It sounds like the movie is shaping up to be pretty brutal. When asked if the brutal action will cause problems with the censors Mangold said,
I don't tend to think of that per se, but I do want the movie to have an intensity. I don't want it to feel just like a CG fest. I think so much of what's badass about Wolverine is his physicality: the sweat, blood, passion and anger. What we trying to do in terms of the action is restore, or even for the first time kind of explore his physicality on a more visceral level.
I can't wait to see what that looks like! Jackman goes on to talk about the title of the movie, and how it's different from any of the other X-Men movies that have been made.
I'm thrilled the studio called it The Wolverine instead of Wolverine 2, because we're trying to set it up as a standalone picture. Tonally, it's different from the other X-Men movies. It's got massive action sequences, as people would expect, and it'll be great fun. But it is a character-driven movie. It's about a guy completely out of his element, in this world that's foreign to him, and how he copes with that. I feel like we have the opportunity to deliver that badass, kick-ass Wolverine I know everybody wants to see.
Now, I remember Jackman saying the same exact thing about X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but I think this time it's going to be as awesome as they say it will. The Wolverine will be released in theaters July 26th, 2013.