In an interview with Empire Online, producer Lauren Shuler Donner shed further light on upcoming films in the "X-Men" franchise.
In the interview Donner talks about "Wolverine 2," "X-Men Origins: Magneto," "X-Men: First Class" and "Deadpool." This post will focus on "Wolverine 2" and "Magneto."
As teased at the end of "Wolverine" and widely rumored directly after its release, "Wolverine 2" will take place in Japan as Logan learns to control some of his more beast-like tendencies. It is the furthest along of all the possible "X-Men" films and will actually be made in Japan.
"It's actually the story we wanted to use for the first Wolverine film, but [Fox head honcho] Tom Rothman preferred to set the character up with an origin story first," Donner said in the interview. "This movie will really focus on the relationship between Wolverine and Mariko, the daughter of a Japanese crime lord, and what happens to him in Japan."
Donner said that the film will feature a whole new style of fighting and action for the "X-Men" franchise.
"There'll be samurai, ninja, katana blades, different forms of martial arts - mano-a-mano, extreme fighting," she said.
A few years ago, it looked like "Magneto" would be the first in a series of "Origins" films, but Wolverine and Hugh Jackman proved to be a better for the box office. Now, "Magneto" is at the end of the line out of all the possible "X-Men" films.
"David Goyer has written a brilliant script," Donner said. "It starts in the concentration camps and has Magneto coming out of there. But you know, I'm not sure that film is going to be made. The studio has a wealth of potential stories, and they have to stand back and decide which ones to make. And Magneto, I think, is at the back of the queue. Maybe it'll get made in five years - who knows?"
What are your thoughts on "Wolverine 2" going full steam ahead while "Magneto" is on the backburner?
