Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine has always been a fan favorite. But X-Men Origins: Wolverine called into question whether the mutant hero would get the opportunity to carry more than a single solo film. Thankfully, Jackman’s desire to take Logan to Japan paid off in the form of 2013’s The Wolverine.

Adapting one of the character’s most popular storylines, the movie marks a departure from its predecessor, tying more closely in with X-Men: The Last Stand than the first Wolverine film. It also marks James Mangold’s first time directing an X-Men movie, a decision which paid off remarkably years later.

Ryan Luis Rodriguez of One Track Mind joins us to break down The Wolverine. We’ll talk about how it draws inspiration from what’s come before — including X-Men Origins: Wolverine — bemoan the lack of Rila Fukushima’s Yukio in future projects, and that CGI-heavy third act.

Despite the less-than-enthusiastic response from fans and critics, 2006’s trilogy-ending X-Men: The Last Stand did at least offer fans something of a sense of closure (that final shot and post-credits scene notwithstanding). But it also outperformed its two predecessors at the box office. So it didn’t take long for Fox to begin exploring ways to extend the franchise.

On paper, a solo film exploring the dark backstory of Hugh Jackman’s fan-favorite character was the obvious way to continue. At the time, such a film was meant to start a whole subset of X-Men Origins movies featuring different beloved characters. But 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine didn’t exactly deliver the strong kickoff the studio or fans hoped for.

Jose Lopez Jr. joins the show to help us break down one of the most maligned entries in the X-Men franchise. We’ll discuss whether X-Men Origins: Wolverine does right by Jackman’s mysterious mutant, the behind-the-scenes drama, the addition of Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth, and — of course — Ryan Reynolds’ inauspicious debut as “Deadpool.”

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