Directed by James Mangold from a screenplay written by Scott Frank and Mark Bomback, based on the 1982 limited series Wolverine by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, it stars Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine, alongside Svetlana Khodchenkova, Rila Fukushima, Tao Okamoto, Hiroyuki Sanada, Will Yun Lee and Famke Janssen.

In the present day, Logan lives as a hermit in the Yukon, tormented by hallucinations of Jean Grey, whom he was forced to kill to save the world.

Logan is placed in a machine by Dr. Green, who reveals her plans to extract his healing factor and introduces him to the Silver Samurai, an electromechanical suit of Japanese armor with energized katanas made of adamantium.

In a mid-credits scene, Logan returns to the United States two years later and is approached at the airport by Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, who warn him of a weapon humans are creating that would bring an end to the mutant race.

[c] Archive audio of Lynn Collins from X-Men Origins: Wolverine is used to represent her character Kayla Silverfox during a dream being had by Logan, while Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen reprise their roles as Charles Xavier / Professor X and Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto in cameo appearances during the mid-credits scene.

"There are so many areas of that Japanese story, I love the idea of this kind of anarchic character, the outsider, being in this world—I can see it aesthetically, too—full of honor and tradition and customs and someone who's really anti-all of that, and trying to negotiate his way.

[31] Before X-Men Origins: Wolverine's release, Lauren Shuler Donner approached Simon Beaufoy to write the script, but he did not feel confident enough to commit.

[45] Also in November, Fox Filmed Entertainment sent out a press release stating that they have signed Aronofsky and his production company Protozoa Pictures to a new two-year, overall deal.

[49] In May 2011, Fox had a list of eight candidates to replace Aronofsky, including directors José Padilha, Doug Liman, Antoine Fuqua, Mark Romanek, Justin Lin, Gavin O'Connor, James Mangold and Gary Shore.

[53] In August 2011, The Vancouver Sun reported that filming would take place from November 11, 2011 to March 1, 2012 at the Canadian Motion Picture Park in Burnaby, British Columbia.

[59] In July 2012, actors Hiroyuki Sanada, Hal Yamanouchi, Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima had been cast as Shingen, Ichirō, Mariko and Yukio, respectively.

[20] Somewhat unusually for action movies, The Wolverine features four female lead roles and "passes the Bechdel Test early and often", according to Vulture.

[42] Jackman contacted Dwayne Johnson for some tips on bulking up for the film, suggesting that he gain a pound a week by eating 6,000 calories a day for six months which consisted of "an awful lot of chicken, steak and brown rice".

[84] Said scene was contributed by Bryan Singer and Simon Kinberg, writers of X-Men: Days of Future Past, as a way to "reintroduce Patrick Stewart into the universe" and set up their film.

[85] Mangold stated that while production of The Wolverine started before Days of Future Past and thus the film was mostly focused on being a self-contained story, he was able to collaborate with Singer to "make things groove together".

[89] For a fight scene taking place on top of a speeding bullet train, the actors and stunt performers filmed on wires above a set piece surrounded by a greenscreen.

[101] Empire magazine said "This is all very encouraging stuff from director James Mangold, a man who's obviously not afraid of tweaking the original source material to serve his own ends.

[11] It contains 12 extra minutes,[112] primarily including an extended battle with Harada's ninjas during the start of the film's third act as well as additional footage during moments of character interaction.

[115] When compared to the rest of the X-Men film franchise, The Wolverine has garnered somewhat mixed results in terms of box office success.

The website's consensus reads, "Although its final act succumbs to the usual cartoonish antics, The Wolverine is one superhero movie that manages to stay true to the comics while keeping casual viewers entertained.

"[124] Christy Lemire, writing for the website of Roger Ebert, said that the film "features some breathtakingly suspenseful action sequences, exquisite production and costume design and colorful characters, some of whom register more powerfully than others.

Though Wolvie comes across a bit world-weary and battle-worn by now, Jackman is in top form, taking the opportunity to test the character's physical and emotional extremes.

"[126] James Buchanan of TV Guide.com gave it three out of four stars, calling it "A rare comic-to-film adaptation that doesn't sacrifice substance for the sake of thrilling action.

"[127] Scott Collura of IGN praised the film giving it an 8.5 out of 10[128] and stated, "The Wolverine is a stand alone adventure for the classic character that reminds us that there's more to this genre than universe-building and crossovers.

"[129] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone felt that despite the film's final act "sink[ing] into CGI shit", Jackman's performance "still has the juice" and Mangold's directing "shows style and snap.

"[130] Henry Barnes of The Guardian gave the film a negative review, giving it two out of five stars and stating, "Hugh Jackman's sixth time out in the claws and hair combo is looking increasingly wearied, as the backstory gets more complicated and the action gets duller and flatter.

"[131] Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News offered a similar view, saying "Hugh Jackman has the role of the mutant superhero down pat, but the rest of the film is the same old slice and dice.

Further adding "I've come around on the samurai-borg, and I think The Wolverine succeeds as a legitimate pulp adventure, with a great ensemble cast and action that feel uniquely gravitational in a typically greenscreen-y franchise.

[148] Liev Schreiber, who portrayed Victor Creed in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, said in February 2016 that he was in talks to reprise his role in the sequel.

[149] By April 2016, Boyd Holbrook had been cast as head of security for a global enterprise set against Wolverine, and Richard E. Grant as a "mad scientist type".