“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” might be scheduled for a May 1 release via 20th Century Fox, but it looks like reshoots are in the cards according to Collider.
Reshoots aren’t uncommon in films and are not an immediate sign of disaster, but these are apparently “extensive” reshoots and enough to seemingly worry the comic-book enthusiasts at Collider.”We’re not talking about a few days of pick-up [shots either],” they warned.
Apparently first-time big-budget director Gavin Hood (known for his smaller work on the South African film “Tsotsi”) has been struggling to get the movie he wants made and has been warring with the studio. Richard Donnner (“Superman I and II” and all the “Lethal Weapon” films) was spotted on set a few times which has led some to speculate that he might have been doing more than just standing around and watching.
Hood is at the helm of the reshoots, so the fact that he hasn’t been replaced must be seen as good news, but as Collider puts it, “Fox and [the director] must have come to an understanding and are clearly trying to salvage one of the summer tent-poles of 2009.”
The website also puts 20th Century Fox film choices into question and wonders if they’re the right studio for what is supposed to be a gritty character study of someone who goes on to become a “super hero” (and an anti-hero at that).
Frankly, their concern seems valid. The ‘Wolverine’ trailer that appeared a few weeks ago were a joke and even we were big fans of “X-Men 2” (one of the top 3 comic-book films so far). It’s almost like the original 1982 “Wolverine” four-part Marvel series (a classic) didn’t even exist (and it sounds like that part of the story isn’t even attempted, but couldn’t they at least use the dark tone?).
The “good” news is that journalists are actually being invited to witness the reshoots which are usually done in as clandestine a fashion as possible, but perhaps they’re convinced and or optimistic that the changes they’ve implemented will be for the better and will generate some more optimistic press (even the geeks have been semi-skeptical so far). Trying to capture new “weather conditions” is Fox’s official reason why the reshoots are taking place. You sure it’s not because they realized the whole endeavor was a really silly idea?
Oh yeah, and apparently Wolverine was at Normandy (this is probably why we stopped reading comics; that and the fact that origins on mysterious characters always ruin the mystique).