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X-Men Films Blog has discovered some interesting info that has raised even more questions about the two "X-Men" spin-offs and a possible "X-Men 4" film.

According to the site, not only have the urls WolverineOrigins.com and MagnetoOrigins.com been registered, but 20th Century Fox just grabbed another name, X-MenOrigins.com. What is the reason for this new name is still unknown, but we can speculate. It could mean that the new spin-off movies could be housed under one site. It could mean that the names of the films might end up being "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "X-Men Origins: Magneto." Or it might (a slim chance) end up being the home for "X-Men 4," which would take a look at the early years of the X-Men.

We'll find out soon enough, especially since the two spin-off flicks have been moving along.


X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a planned 2009 film to be directed by Gavin Hood and starring Hugh Jackman as the title character. It is a prequel to the X-Men film trilogy, focusing on Wolverine when his skeleton was bonded with the indestructible metal, adamantium. The film is slated for a May 1, 2009 release.


[edit] Premise
The film is set seventeen years before the first X-Men,[56] and will center on Wolverine's early encounters with Sabretooth, William Stryker and the Weapon X program, and other mutants.[57] The Blob and John Wraith may also feature, as well as Vietnam War flashbacks and a love interest for Wolverine.[58]


[edit] Cast
Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine: The mutant and future X-Man. Jackman, who played Wolverine in the previous films, is producer as well as star, and is being paid $20 million for the film.[59]
Liev Schreiber is in final negotiations to portray a young William Stryker, the military general who subjected Wolverine to the adamantium experiment.[57] Brian Cox, who played Stryker in X2, had expressed interest in reprising the role, using computer generated imagery to make him appear younger.[56]
Robert Knepper has been cast in an unnamed role.[60]
Kodi Smit-McPhee as the young Logan.[61]
Tyler Mane had expressed interest in reprising the role of Sabretooth.[62] but has confirmed on his MySpace page that he will not be playing the part.[63]


[edit] Production
David Benioff was hired to pen the screenplay for the spin-off film Wolverine in October 2004.[64] Benioff was a comic book fan and had pursued the project for two years.[65] In preparing to write the script, he reread Barry Windsor-Smith's "Weapon X" story (1991), as well as Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's Wolverine limited series (1982).[58] Jackman collaborated with Benioff on the script, which aims to be more of a character piece compared to the previous X-Men films.[66] In October 2006 the script was finished, and Jackman stated there would be a year before shooting,[67] as he was scheduled to start filming Australia (200 cool during 2007.[68]

Gavin Hood was announced as director of the project in July 2007 for a 2008 release.[69] Previously, Brett Ratner,[70] Len Wiseman[71] Bryan Singer[72] and Alexandre Aja[73] all expressed interest in the film. Hood explained that while he was not a comic book fan, he "realized that the character of Wolverine, I think his great appeal lies in the fact that he's someone who in some ways, is filled with a great deal of self-loathing by his own nature and he's constantly at war with his own nature."[74] The director described the film's themes as focusing on Wolverine's inner struggle between his animalistic savagery and noble human qualities. Hood enjoyed the previous films, but set out to give the spin-off a different feel.[75]

In October, Fox announced a May 1, 2009 release date, and that the film's title would be X-Men Origins: Wolverine.[57] Fox also issued a "major SOS" to the leading agencies in order to find someone who would be able to perform a speedy rewrite of the script before the Hollywood strike.[76] James Vanderbilt and Scott Silver (8 Mile) took the task of finishing the script before the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike began.[77]

Shooting will begin in December 2007 at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia. The shoot will last three or four months,[78] beginning in Australia before moving to New Zealand and New Orleans.[57] In October 2007, Harry Gregson-Williams signed on as composer.[79]


[edit] Sequel
Hood speculated that there could be a sequel, which may be set in Japan.[74] Such a location was the subject of Claremont and Miller's series, which was not in the first film as Jackman felt “what we need to do is establish who [Logan] is and find out how he became Wolverine."[58]

It has been known that the upcoming "Wolverine" film will look into the origins of the character and now SuperHeroHype! found out who will play the young Logan. According to the site, 11 year old Kodi Smit-McPhee (Romulas, My Father) has already been cast for the role and will start filming his scenes at Fox Studios this December.


Using several resources that include the Marvel Comics lore, along with the more recent Weapon X graphic novels by Frank Miller, "Wolverine" mixes action with an origin story about how Logan emerged from a barbaric experiment as an indestructible mutant with retractable razor-sharp claws.

The Sydney Morning Herald also reports that in recent weeks Hugh Jackman has been spotted approaching would-be stars and offering them the chance to audition for roles in the flick, which is said to be a prequel that delves deep into the early years of Jackman's Wolverine character. One such role is Wolverine's brother, which is currently rumored to go to the former "McCleod's Daughters" Aaron Jeffrey.


Following reports that Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) was named as the director of the upcoming "Wolverine" spin-off, TheXverse added that production is now moving forward. According to the site's inside source, the film has reached the prepping stage, becoming ready to get Hugh Jackman back before cameras in November. And although previous "X-Men" movies have been filmed in Vancouver, "Wolverine" will be shot in Sydney, Australia.

Using several resources that include the Marvel Comics lore, along with the more recent Weapon X graphic novels by Frank Miller, "Wolverine" mixes action with an origin story about how Logan emerged from a barbaric experiment as an indestructible mutant with retractable razor-sharp claws.

As for the bad guys, Vinnie Jones, who played Juggernaut in "X-Men: The Last Stand," and Tyler Mane, who appeared as Sabretooth in "X-Men," both reportedly claimed to be in talks for the film.

WizardUniverse had the chance to speak to Hugh Jackman about the upcoming "Wolverine" prequel, who revealed a few details about the project. Since the film will focus on the origin of Wolverine, we will get to see his ties to Weapon X, his first run-in with Victor Creed (aka Sabretooth) and his bonding with adamantium.

When asked if the film would touch on Wolverine's early-year comic book connections to Japan, Jackman curbed the rumor in favor of others. "[The Japan connection] is still something we really want to do," admitted the actor. "What we need to do is establish who he is and find out how he became Wolverine. And by the end of the movie, I want it to be that you definitely knew who this guy was, like Mad Max and Dirty Harry. He's a good guy, but he's not a nice guy. He's just the guy you want on your side."

Sources also mentioned scenes featuring Wolverine in Vietnam, a pre-X-Men love interest, and famous characters like the teleporter John Wraith, who served with Wolverine on special ops missions as part of Team X, along with Fred J. Dukes (aka the Blob). If you're waiting to see some of the X-Men in the film, apparently that will not happen.

As for the bad guys, Vinnie Jones, who played Juggernaut in "X-Men: The Last Stand," and Tyler Mane, who appeared as Sabretooth in "X-Men," both reportedly claimed to be in talks for the film.


In December 2004, Twentieth Century Fox hired screenwriter Sheldon Turner to draft a spin-off X-Men film, and he chose to write Magneto, pitching it as "The Pianist meets X-Men." [80] In April 2007, David S. Goyer was hired to direct.[81] Turner said the script was set from 1939 to 1955, [82] and it follows Magneto trying to survive in Auschwitz. He meets Xavier, a soldier, during the liberation of the camp. He hunts down the Nazi war criminals that tortured him in Europe and Argentina,[83] and this lust for vengeance turns him and Xavier into enemies.[81]

In May 2006, Ian McKellen said he would reprise the role using the computer-generated facelift applied to him in the prologue of X-Men: The Last Stand.[84] Lauren Shuler Donner stated that the film would need McKellen to anchor the story, which would take place in flashbacks.[54] With Goyer's hiring in 2007, it was said actors in their twenties would play the characters.[81] Avi Arad said the film is planned for a 2009 release,[85] and like Wolverine, it may be shot in Australia.

ObsessedWithFilm posted a few story details about the upcoming "Magneto" spin-off. Apparently, director David Goyer plans to concentrate on the origins of Magneto and Professor X. Here is how:

"The movie is book-ended with two scenes in Poland at the 60th Anniversary of the Auschwitz Liberation. These events take place within the timeframe of the first three X-films and will reunite Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. The opening takes a cue from Bryan Singer's X-Men, where a young Erik Lehnsherr crumples the Auschwitz gates. Erik is subjected to horrendous experiments by a team of scientists led by vicious Nazi Dr. Kleinmein.

We next meet Lehnsherr in Ukraine. It's ten years later and he’s married to Magda, they have a young girl called Anya. Erik works in construction, his abilities are well developed, he’s able to plunge a nail straight through wood by just staring at it. In the village pub Erik spots Kirken, an abusive prison guard from the concentration camp. Kirken ends up dead by Erik's hand and the villagers burn down his house – Magda and Anya are killed in the blaze.

In Paris, Erik seeks help from famed Nazi hunter Professor Wesenthein – he wants revenge, more specifically he's looking for Kleinmein. Wesenthein tells Erik many Nazi's are hiding out in South America, and that Kleinmein was trying to genetically manufacture a master race for Hitler. Erik moves on to Argentina to try and track down Nazi war criminals – he's met by CIA agent Owen Graves and the pair fore an alliance. Graves tips off Erik on the whereabouts of known Nazis but also harbours his own agenda.

The action switches to Israel where Erik searches for a man well known for helping Holocaust survivors. He finds him playing soccer: Dr Charles Xavier..."