Ever since director Darren Aronofsky has abruptly dropped out of THE WOLVERINE in March, Twentieth Century Fox has been actively on the hunt for immediate replacement. Now the studio has finally found their ideal director, which is James Mangold (KNIGHTS AND DAY). With the confirmation of him being the director, this will be his second collaboration with Hugh Jackman after they have previously worked together in KATE & LEOPOLD (2001)
Apparently Mangold has beat out a collection of directors which included Gavin O'Connor, Antoine Fuqua and Doug Liman.
Christopher McQuarrie wrote the script, in which THE WOLVERINE will takes place mostly in Japan.
The inclusion of James Mangold is certainly an odd choice since he never direct a superhero movie before. But then again, all THE WOLVERINE needs the most is a fresh angle and Mangold has proven himself a versatile filmmaker in his directing resume so far. He has gone from a variety of genre which included drama (HEAVY and GIRL, INTERRUPTED), romantic comedy (KATE & LEOPOLD), thriller (IDENTITY), crime (COPLAND), biopic (WALK THE LINE), western (3:10 TO YUMA), and action comedy (KNIGHTS AND DAY).
THE WOLVERINE hits theaters in 2012.