There are a couple of steps towards getting a green light for a blockbuster sequel nobody wants. Step one is when the original’s spectacular opening weekend debuts and a sequel is announced as not greenlit, but “in development,” which is code for, “we think this thing’s gonna tank in week 2.” Step two is the followup, when the dust has settled, the film has unperformed, and the star is talking up the next film, knowing full well it’s essentially all he’s got in his career (see: Vin Diesel, Brandon Routh). Fox is at stage three with “Wolverine 2,” where a writer is hired to bang something out, which will be ready to go should DVD sales of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” be robust, and that writer is Christopher McQuarrie.
A bit surprising that McQuarrie’s taking the gig on what will be the fifth “X-Men” film so far, considering his relationship with director Bryan Singer, who was infamously booted from the franchise he helped start. McQuarrie won his Oscar for writing Singer’s “The Usual Suspects” and also served as the credited name on the “Valkyrie” script, while also apparently being one of dozens of uncredited screenwriters (Joss Whedon and Andrew Kevin Walker are also on that list) to take a hack at the first “X-Men.” McQuarrie and Singer may not be the most social collaborative team, and this is purely a business decision, but one wonders if Singer is mildly peeved at his frequent collaborator.
The next installment in the series is expected to take Wolverine to Japan, where many of the character’s adventures occurred in the comic. You can bet on Kelly Hu reprising her role as Lady Deathstryke from “X2: X-Men United,” as the character who once pursued Wolvie through Japan believing he was responsible for killing her father, the inventor of the adamantium metal that is fused to both Wolverine’s and Deathstryke’s bones. Nevermind the fact that Hu isn’t Japanese at all- seriously, when are we going to start casting Asian actors accurately? Hu is one of many actors from the previous films still signed for multiple go-rounds, and it wouldn’t be a surprise for Fox to randomly cherry pick from a bunch of characters who have nothing to do with Wolverine’s Japanese past. A few years ago, Vinnie Jones spoke of reprising his “X-Men: The Last Stand” role of Juggernaut in a Wolverine movie, so we wouldn’t be surprised about him returning either, since Vinnie Jones will work for sandwiches.