When The Wolverine was officially announced as a prequel to Wolvie's adventures with the X-Men, taking place when he was at the top of his game in Japan, some may have worried a bit about Hugh Jackman, now 43 years old (he was only 31 when the first X-Men was filmed) looking considerably older, and thus not at the top of his game.
Well, the first official promotional image for the film, released on twitter by Marvel.com's "Agent M" is one of those "thousand words" situations, with Jackman's Logan looking tougher, leaner, and flat-out scarier than he ever has before. Jackman appears shirtless and ripped in front of a shrine, also likely giving us the first official glimpse at a set piece from the film.
The Wolverine, directed by James Mangold and scheduled to hit theaters July 23, 2013, features the story of Wolvering living, training, and even falling in love in Japan. Modeled after the classic miniseries by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, the movie features Will Yun Lee as Silver Samurai, Tao Okamoto as love interest Mariko, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Shingen, her father who determines he is unworthy.
