X-Men Origins: Wolverine

***X-Men Origins: Wolverine*** is a 2009 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics fictional character Wolverine, distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the fourth installment in the *X-Men* film series. The film was directed by Gavin Hood, written by David Benioff and Skip Woods, and produced by and starringHugh Jackman. It co-stars Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Dominic Monaghan, Will.i.am and Ryan Reynolds. The film is a prequel/spin-off focusing on the violent past of the mutant Wolverine and his relationship with his half-brother Victor Creed. The plot details Wolverine's childhood as James Howlett (Troye Sivan), his early encounters with Major William Stryker, his time with Team X, and the bonding of Wolverine's skeleton with the indestructible metaladamantium during the Weapon X program.

The film was mostly shot in Australia and New Zealand, with Canada also serving as a location. Production and post-production were troubled, with delays due to the weather and Jackman's other commitments, an incomplete screenplay that was still being written in Los Angeles while principal photography rolled in Australia, conflicts arising between director Hood and Fox's executives, and an unfinished workprint being leaked on the Internet one month before the film's debut.

*X-Men Origins: Wolverine* was released worldwide on May 1, 2009, opening at the top of the box office and grossing $179 million in the United States and Canada and over $373 million worldwide. Reviews were generally negative, with critics considering the film uninspired, criticizing its screenplay and poorly produced CGI but praising Jackman's performance. Jackman himself confessed to being unhappy with the final result of the film. Another Wolverine film entitled *The Wolverine* was released in 2013.

## Plot

In 1845, James Howlett, a boy living in Canada, sees his father being killed by groundskeeper Thomas Logan. The trauma activates the boy's mutation: bone claws protrude from his knuckles, and he kills Thomas, who reveals that he is James's real father. James flees along with Thomas's son Victor Creed, who is thus James's half-brother. They spend the next century as soldiers, fighting in the American Civil War, both World Wars, and the Vietnam War. In Vietnam, Victor kills a senior officer. James defends Victor and the two are sentenced to execution by firing squad, which they survive. Major William Stryker approaches them in military custody, and offers them membership in Team X, a group of mutants including Agent Zero, Wade Wilson, John Wraith, Fred Dukes, and Chris Bradley. They join the team for a few years, but the group's disregard for human life causes James to leave.

Six years later, James, now using the alias Logan, works as a lumberjack in Canada, where he lives with his girlfriend Kayla Silverfox. Stryker and Zero approach Logan at work. Stryker reports that Wade and Bradley have been killed, and he thinks someone is targeting the team's members. Logan refuses to rejoin Stryker, but after finding Kayla's bloodied body in the woods, Logan realizes Victor is responsible. He finds him at a local bar, but Logan loses the subsequent fight. Afterward, Stryker explains that Victor has gone rogue, and offers Logan a way to become strong enough to get his revenge. Logan undergoes a painful operation to reinforce his skeleton with adamantium, a virtually indestructible metal. Once the procedure is complete, Stryker attempts to betray Logan by ordering that his memory be erased. Logan overhears this and escapes to a nearby farm, where an elderly couple take him in. Zero kills them the following morning and tries to kill Logan. Logan brings down Zero's helicopter, killing him, and swears to kill both Stryker and Victor.

Logan locates John and Fred at a boxing club. Fred explains that Victor is still working for Stryker, hunting down mutants for Stryker to experiment on at his new laboratory, located at a place called "The Island". Fred mentions Remy "Gambit" LeBeau, who escaped from the island and therefore knows its location. John and Logan find LeBeau in New Orleans, then both fight Victor, who kills John and extracts his DNA. Agreeing to help release mutants that Stryker has captured, Gambit takes Logan to Stryker's facility on Three Mile Island. Logan learns that Kayla is alive, having been coerced by Stryker into keeping tabs on him in exchange for her sister's safety. However, Stryker refuses to release her sister and denies Victor the adamantium bonding promised for his service, claiming that test results revealed Victor would not survive the operation. Stryker activates a mouth-sewn Wade, now known as Weapon XI, a "mutant killer" with the powers of multiple mutants, who he refers to as the "Deadpool".

While Logan and Victor join forces to fight Deadpool, Kayla is mortally wounded leading the Island's captive mutants to safety; the mutants are subsequently rescued by Professor Charles Xavier. Logan decapitates Deadpool, destroying one of the cooling towers in the process. Stryker arrives and shoots Logan in the head with adamantium bullets, rendering him unconscious. Before Stryker can shoot Kayla, she grabs him and uses her mutant power to persuade him to turn around and walk away until his feet bleed. Logan regains consciousness but has lost his memory. He sees Kayla's body, but does not recognize her, and leaves the island.

In a mid-credits scene, Stryker is detained for questioning by some MPs in connection with the death of his superior, General Munson, whom Stryker did in fact kill after Munson declared his intent to shut down Stryker's project.

## Cast

* Hugh Jackman as James Howlett / Logan / Wolverine:

The mutant and future X-Men member and often referred as Jimmy by Victor Creed. Jackman, who played Wolverine in the previous films, has also become producer of the film via his company Seed Productions, and earned $25 million for the film.[4] Jackman underwent a high intensity weight training regimen to improve his physique for the role. He altered the program to shock his body into change and also performed cardiovascular workouts. Jackman noted no digital touches were applied to his physique in a shot of him rising from the tank within which Wolverine has his bones infused with adamantium.[5]
* Troye Sivan as young James Howlett:

Casting directors cast Sivan as the young Wolverine after seeing him sing at the Channel Seven Perth Telethon, and he was accepted after sending in an audition tape.[6] Kodi Smit-McPhee was originally cast in the role, when filming was originally beginning in December 2007,[7] but he opted out to film *The Road*.[8] Smit-McPhee was later cast as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler in the 2016 film *X-Men: Apocalypse*.
* Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed:

Logan's half-brother and fellow soldier, who would later become his nemesis Sabretooth. Jackman and Hood compared Wolverine and Sabretooth's relationship to the Borg–McEnroe rivalry in the world of tennis: they are enemies but they can't live without each other. Sabretooth represents the pure animal and embodies the darker side of Wolverine's character, the aspect Wolverine hates about himself. These characters are two sides to the same coin.[9] Tyler Mane, who played him in *X-Men*, had hoped to reprise the role.[10] Jackman worked with Schreiber before, in the 2001 romantic comedy *Kate & Leopold* and described him as having a competitive streak necessary to portray Sabretooth. They egged each other on on set to perform more and more stunts. Schreiber put on 40 lb (18 kg) of muscle for the part,[11] and described Sabretooth as the most monstrous role he ever played. As a child, he loved the Wolverine comics because of their unique "urban sensibility". Schreiber had studied to be a fight choreographer and wanted to be a dancer like Jackman, so he enjoyed working out their fight scenes.[12]
* Michael James Olsen as young Victor Creed

* Danny Huston as Major William Stryker:

Huston was originally in negotiations for the part,[13] while Brian Cox, who played the character in *X2*, wanted to reprise the role. He believed computer-generated imagery, similar to the program applied to Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in the opening flashback of *X-Men: The Last Stand*, would allow him to appear as the younger Stryker.[14] Huston liked the complex Stryker, who "both loves and hates mutants because his son was a mutant and drove his wife to suicide. So he understands what they're going through, but despises their destructive force." He compared the character to aracehorse breeder, who rears his mutant experiments like children but abandons them when something goes wrong. His son is shown to be frozen at the Weapon X facility and the reason Stryker starts the Weapon XI program.[11]
* will.i.am as John Wraith:

A teleporting mutant. It is will.i.am's major live-action film debut. Although he initially did not get on with the casting director, he got the role because he wanted to play a mutant with the same power asNightcrawler. He enrolled in boot camp to get into shape for the part.[15] When filming a fight, he scarred his knuckles after accidentally punching and breaking the camera.[16]
* Lynn Collins as Kayla Silverfox:

Wolverine's native-American (Blackfoot/Niitsítapi) love interest and pawn of Stryker. She has the powers of tactile telepathy/hypnosis.[11] However, Victor is resistant/immune to telepathy. Describing her role, Collins said "I had to play off all the guys and their testosterone-heavy abilities. But I learned that the female powers of persuasion easily trump fangs and knives and guns."[17] Michelle Monaghanturned down the role because of scheduling conflicts, despite her enthusiasm to work with Jackman.[18]
* Kevin Durand as Fred J. Dukes / The Blob:

A mutant with a nearly indestructible layer of skin. In the film's early sequences, he is a formidable fighting man, but years later, due to a poor diet, has gained an enormous amount of weight.[11] A fan of the *X-Men* movies, Durand contacted the producers for a role as soon as news of a new film came out.[19] The suit went through six months of modifications, and had a tubing system inside to cool Durand down with ice water.[20]
* Dominic Monaghan as Chris Bradley:

A mutant who can manipulate electricity and electronic objects.[21] It was originally reported that Monaghan was going to play Barnell Bohusk / Beak.[22]
* Taylor Kitsch as Remy LeBeau / Gambit:

A Cajun thief who has the ability to convert the potential energy of any object he touches into kinetic energy, forcing it to explode. The size of the object determines the magnitude of the resulting explosion.[11] He is also skilled in the use of a staff, and happens to be very agile. Due to the nature of his power, he displays supernatural durability, being able to take Wolverine's elbow to his face and return to fight moments later. When asked about his thoughts on the character, Kitsch had said, "I knew of him, but I didn't know the following he had. I'm sure I'm still going to be exposed to that. I love the character, I love the powers, and I love what they did with him. I didn't know that much, but in my experience, it was a blessing to go in and create my take on him. I'm excited for it, to say the least."[23]
* Daniel Henney as Agent Zero:

A member of the Weapon X program and an expert tracker with lethal sniper skills.[11] An X-Men fan, Henney liked the role of a villain because "there are no restrictions playing it, allowing you freely to express it, so you can act how you want to".[24] He described the film as more realistic and cruder than the *X-Men* trilogy.[25]
* Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson:

A wisecracking mercenary with lethal swordsmanship skill and athleticism, who later becomes Deadpool. Reynolds had been interested in playing the character in his own film since 2003.[26] Originally, Reynolds was only going to cameo as Wilson but the role grew after he was cast.[27] Reynolds did sword-training for the character, and also worked out to get his physique comparable to Jackman's.[28]
* Scott Adkins as Weapon XI / Deadpool:

Weapon XI is a genetically altered mutant killer. He has powers taken from other mutants killed or kidnapped in the film, as well as retractable blades in his arms. He is referred to by Stryker as "the Deadpool" because the compatible powers of the other mutants have been 'pooled' together into a one 'dead' mutant. Ryan Reynolds portrays Weapon XI for close-ups, standing shots, and simple stunts while Scott Adkins is used for the more complicated and dangerous stunt work.[29]
* Tim Pocock as young Scott Summers / Cyclops:

A mutant capable of emitting powerful beams of energy from his eyes, who later becomes Cyclops, leader of the X-Men. He is shown as a Weapon X captive as he is caught by Victor Creed. Pocock is a debuting screen actor who previously worked with Opera Australia, who decided to play the character as "his own" instead of following James Marsden's performance in the *X-Men* trilogy, feeling that "he's a very different human being at that point in time. He's a teenager. What teenager is the same when they're 30 years old?" Pocock also described *Wolverine* as being Cyclops' "big transition moment", with the character going from a troubled teenager to a leader throughout the course of the film.[30]
* Max Cullen and Julia Blake as Travis Hudson and Heather Hudson:

An elderly couple who take care of Wolverine after his adamantium bonding. The Hudsons are heavily adapted from the comics' James MacDonald and Heather Hudson.
* Tahyna Tozzi as Kayla's sister Emma:

A mutant with the power to turn her skin into diamond, who in the film is Silverfox's sister.[31] The film depiction of Emma was originally assumed to be Emma Frost. However it was noted that she does not exhibit the character's traditional telepathic abilities. It as later revealed by Bryan Singer that is character is actually not Emma Frost, but instead a mutant with similar abilities.[32]
Wolverine's parents also appeared in the film; Aaron Jeffery portrayed Thomas Logan while Alice Parkinson portrayed Elizabeth Howlett. Peter O'Brien appeared as John Howlett, James' alleged father. The film includes numerous cameo appearances of younger versions of characters from the previous films, including Jason Stryker (William Stryker's lobotomized telepathic son whom he keeps in cryogenic suspension).[33] There was a cameo for a young Storm, which can be seen in the trailer, but it was removed from the released film.[34] A digitally rejuvenated Patrick Stewart also makes an uncredited cameo as a younger Charles Xavier who appeared to not yet lost the use of his legs.[35]

Asher Keddie played Dr. Carol Frost.[36] Poker player Daniel Negreanu has a cameo. Phil Hellmuth wanted to join him but was unable because he committed to an event in Toronto.[37] *X-Men* co-creatorStan Lee said he would cameo, but Lee ended up not appearing in the film as he could not attend filming in Australia.