Wolverine to shoot in Tomo-no-ura

Sleepy medieval port town, Tomo-no-ura, is well known as the inspiration for the setting of Ghilbi’s Ponyo on the Cliff, and has been back in the news recently after a controversial plan to build a highway across its picturesque bay. The town’s next role is to be as host to a Hollywood production, a location in the sequel to 2009’s Wolverine Origins.

The movie is to be set in Japan, and Hugh Jackman will reprise his role as the razor sharp adamantium-clawed Wolverine. Based on the 1982 comic-book arc by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, Logan the Wolverine heads to Japan where he falls in love with Mariko Yashida.

Unfortunately for the young couple, Mariko just happens to be the heiress of a powerful yakuza family. If that doesn’t cause enough problems, her half brother is the Silver Samurai, the movie’s main villain, who has the power to channel energy into any object, notably his katana sword. He will be played by Korean-American actor Will Yun Lee. Hiroyuki Sanada, who was in The Last Samurai and  played the lead role in (the far superior) The Twilight Samurai, is to play crime boss and Makiko’s father, Shigen Yashida.

Filming is expected to happen within the year an the movie is scheduled to be released in the US in the summer of next year.

Read more about visiting Tomo-no-ura here.