In the opinion of many, it would be hard for a Wolverine sequel to not get better. But few could expect that an Oscar-winning screenwriter would be tapped to write the follow up, and his involvement might bring an acclaimed director back to the X-Men franchise.
The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Christopher McQuarrie, who won an Academy Award for his work on The Usual Suspects, will be taking over writing chores on the sequel to this year’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
The sequel is rumored to be an ipso facto adaptation to the character-defining Chris Claremont and Frank Miller Wolverine comic book miniseries. If that is the case, the story will take place in Japan and deal with Logan’s run in with crime boss and his star-crossed romance with the gangster’s daughter.
McQuarrie’s involvement has caused MTV’s Splash Page to theorize that it might also mean director Bryan Singer’s return to the X-Men franchise. McQuarrie is a frequent collaborator of Singer’s. In addition to The Usual Suspects, the screenwriter also worked with the director on Public Access and Valkyrie, worked an uncredited contribution on the first X-Men film, and received an “special thanks” on Apt Pupil.
Singer has recently gone on record expressing interest in returning to the X-Men film universe. His involvement in rebooting Warner’s Superman franchise with Superman Returns took him out of the running for second X-Men sequel, X-Men: The Last Stand, which was directed instead by Brett Ratner.
Singer’s involvement is only in the wishful thinking stage, but is interesting to contemplate.
