Source:Variety

July 20, 2007

20th Century Fox has set Gavin Hood to direct Hugh Jackman in Wolverine, the "X-Men" spinoff that was written by David Benioff.

The film, which begins production in November for a 2008 release, will be produced by Lauren Shuler-Donner, Jackman and his Seed Productions partner John Palermo.

Hood is the South African director whose 2005 film Tsotsi won the foreign film Oscar. His next film, the thriller Rendition with Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal, opens on October 12.

Using several resources that include the Marvel Comics lore, along with the more recent Weapon X graphic novels by Frank Miller, Wolverine mixes action with an origin story about how Logan emerged from a barbaric experiment as an indestructible mutant with retractable razor-sharp claws.

After three "X-Men" films grossed over $1 billion worldwide, the studio has made Wolverine a top priority.

"I have long been a fan of Gavin's work and know he will make a masterful film with the character intensity and action beats the fans expect," said Jackman.

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