There really haven't been that many details released about THE WOLVERINE. We do know that it's set in Japan, Logan is going to battle some ninjas and for at least part of the film he won't have his healing abilities. Oh, and we know Wolverine is going to take a train ride at some point. In an interview that appears in the print edition of Entertainment Weekly director James Mangold opened up and talked about certain elements of the film.
One of the things people have been wondering is how Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) will be used in the film. It's no secret that she appears in the film but is it actually her or is Jean Grey just stuck in Wolverine's head? Mangold described her role as a "shadow presence" and went on to explain how she will interact with Wolverine:
Pops up to mock, comfort and advise Logan much as Number 6 tortured Gaius Baltar on Battlestar Galactica.
It really does look like Logan is going to be mentally put through the wringer in THE WOLVERINE. Logan's mental state hasn't been explored that much in the films and it's one of the things that intrigues me the most about THE WOLVERINE.
The interviewer went on to ask James Mangold about the end-credit scene the director recently shot in Montreal featuring Patrick Stewart as Professor X that would link the film to the upcoming X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. Many people were slightly annoyed with the news about the scene since THE WOLVERINE is suppose to be a stand alone film. At first Mangold wouldn't comment on the scene but then ended up confirming it and said that while Professor X does appear at the end it has nothing to do with the plot for THE WOLVERINE:
"It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what's inside ['The Wolverine']."
I don't know if they really need the cameo to link the two films together since I'm pretty sure everyone knows Wolverine is a part of X-Men anyway and it's not like a different actor is playing Logan. Still, it'll be interesting to see how the scene is used and Wolverine's reaction to seeing Professor X again.
THE WOLVERINE will be unleashed on July 26th, 2013.