Wolverine's Next Foe: Hugh Jackman's X-Men Tough Guy to Face Powerful Villain in Sequel

by John Boone Mon., Jul. 9, 2012 6:01 PM PDT

Twentieth Century Fox

In the first flick, Hugh Jackman went head to head with Liev Schrieber and Ryan Reynolds (remember, he played bad boy Deadpool before he ever donned those Green Lantern tights). But now Wolverine has a new nemesis.

And we think old Logan might have his hands full with this one. So who will everyone's favorite mutant be taking on in the sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine?

READ: The Amazing Spider-Man: Which Villain Is Director Marc Webb Suggesting for the Sequel?!

Marvel.com; Jesse Grant/WireImage

Will Yun Lee as The Silver Samurai, Variety reveals!

Details on the project are scarce—it's rumored to be about Wolverine traveling to Japan to train as a samurai—but, while promoting Real Steel at last year's Comic-Con, Hugh let slip which bad guy he'd battle next, Kenuichio Harada (aka The Silver Samurai).

And now we have a real-life face to go with the badass comic book alter ego!

In Marvel lore, The Silver Samurai has the mutant ability to create an energy field that he uses to allow his giant katana sword to slice through almost any material. He's fought the likes of Spider-Man, Daredevil and Black Widow, too.

Oh, and one of his storylines has to do with the amnesia Logan suffered at the end of the prequel.

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This isn't Lee's first go at being a comic book baddie: He duked it out with Jennifer Garner in Elektra. He's also done voice work on the recently released The Amazing Spider-Man video game (he did not appear in the film).

Though he has not been confirmed, Lee could possibly make an appearance with his next flick (Colin Farrell's Total Recall) at this year's Comic-Con and, who knows, maybe let slip some secrets about his Samurai casting? We can hope, can't we?

The next Wolverine flick—currently dubbed The Wolverine—is to be directed by James Mangold, who has an eclectic resume that includes films like Tom Cruise's Knight and Day, Christian Bale's 3:10 to Yuma and…Kate & Leopold?!

Production—which has previously been delayed—is finally set to begin next month in Australia with the movie aiming to hit theaters July 26, 2013. Better get those claws sharpened, Wolverine!

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