X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics fictional character Wolverine. It is the fourth installment of the X-Men film series, the first installment of the Wolverine trilogy within the series, and a spin-off/prequel to X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).

The film was directed by Gavin Hood, written by David Benioff and Skip Woods, and produced by Hugh Jackman, who stars as the titular character, alongside Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Dominic Monaghan, and Ryan Reynolds. The film’s plot details Wolverine’s childhood as James Howlett, his time with Major William Stryker‘s Team X, the bonding of Wolverine’s skeleton with the indestructible metal adamantium during the Weapon X program and his relationship with his half-brother Victor Creed.

The film was mostly shot in Australia and New Zealand, with Canada also serving as a location. Filming took place from January to May 2008. Production and post-production were troubled, with delays due to the weather and Jackman’s other commitments, an incomplete screenplay that was still being written in Los Angeles while principal photography rolled in Australia, conflicts arising between director Hood and Fox’s executives over the film’s direction, and an unfinished workprint being leaked on the internet a month before the film’s debut.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was released worldwide on May 1, 2009 by 20th Century Fox and received mixed reviews from critics. The film opened at the top of the North American box office and grossed $179 million in the United States and Canada and over $373 million worldwide. A second film, The Wolverine, was released in 2013 and a third film, Logan, was released in 2017.