After some location problems, things were pretty quiet from James Mangold’s ‘The Wolverine’. Now it seems that the production is back on track and has started casting. And for those of you that are worried that this Japan-centric story would be whitewashed ala M. Night’s ‘The Last Airbender’ or ‘Dragonball: Evolution’, fear not!
According to Comic Book Movie, Hiroyuki Sanada (‘Rush Hour 3’, ‘The Last Samurai’) is set to play Shingen, a Yakuza crime boss, Hal Yamanouchi (‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’) plays Yashida, the head of the a clan that Logan frequently crosses paths with, Rila Fukushima will be the deadly assassin Yukio, and Tao Okamoto will star as Mariko, the daughter of Shingen and love interest to Weapon X.
In addition, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Brian Tee of ‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’ will play Noburo Mori, the corrupt minister of justice who is about to marry Mariko, and Will Yun Lee of ‘Die Another Day’, ‘Elektra’, and the upcoming ‘Total Recall’ remake will play Kenuichio Harada, the man better known as The Silver Samurai. Those familiar with the Chris Claremont/Frank Miller Wolverine miniseries from the 80s know that Harada is the big baddie with an electrified suit of samurai armor that gives Wolvie a run for his money in the Land of the Rising Sun.
This motley crew of characters join Hugh Jackman as he reprises his role as the roughneck renegade mutant Wolverine in this sequel to the ghastly ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’.
Shooting begins in Australia for ‘The Wolverine’ in August, followed by on-location shooting in Japan. The film is scheduled for release on July 26, 2013.
