James Mangold Compares The Wolverine to Chinatown and The Outlaw Josey Wales

James Mangold was just as apprehensive as the rest of you when the idea of a Wolverine movie fell into his lap -- so much so that he spoke with predecessor Darren Aronofsky, who was originally set to direct, before taking on the project. So what enticed him to take the helm on the Hugh Jackman-starring X-Men spin-off, anyways? And how exactly will it evoke such American classics as Chinatown and Clint Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales?

From The Playlist:

"I think part of the reason I'm doing this picture has been because it isn't to me a conventional superhero movie. It isn't an origin story, so I'm freed from that burden, and it also isn't a save-the-world movie, which most of them are. It's actually a character piece; I actually think it has more in common with The Outlaw Josey Wales and Chinatown, what we're doing, than the conventional, 'Will Wolverine and his compatriots save the world from this thermonuclear device' question."

And further:

"...The fact that half of the characters in this movie speak Japanese, this is like a foreign-language superhero movie that's as much a drama and a detective story and a film noir, with high-octane action as it is anything like a conventional tentpole film."

So, Mangold's Wolverine is an unconventional foreign language superhero detective noir-actioner character piece, set in Japan, with shades of Chinatown and The Outlaw Josey Wales. Gotcha. Another way to look at it: Wolverine will finally reunite the star and director of Kate & Leopold! Rejoice or lament as you will.

• James Mangold Calls 'The Wolverine' A Dark Character Piece Like Eastwood's 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' [The Playlist]