Whatever fitness and food regimen Hugh Jackman’s on to get in shape for The Wolverine, it’s working. Big time.

 

A ripped (and clawed) Jackman is front and center for the first official photo from James Mangold’s Wolverine sequel, which currently is filming in Australia and Japan. The actor’s fifth stint in the adamantium skeleton and razor-sharp claws finds him in the Land of the Rising Sun, where he falls in love, and must contend with samurai warriors, led by The Silver Samurai (Will Yun Lee). 

 

Screenwriters Christopher McQuarrie and Mark Bomback are taking their cues from Frank Miller’s legendary Wolverine graphic novel, still one of he most celebrated storylines in the character’s rich history. And from the looks of the photo, Jackman’s right back in the mindset of his feral warrior … which we never doubted for a second. 

 

The Wolverine will be in theaters on July 26, 2013. Could a trailer be hitting the Web before long?  

 

 

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