Liev Schreiber's Wolverine role

Oct 21, 2007, 14:30 GMT

Liev Schreiber - © Scott Alan / Photorazzi

Liev Schreiber is set to play Hugh Jackman?s arch nemesis in new movie "Wolverine".

Schreiber is in final talks to play a younger version of army general William Stryker, the man who turned Wolverine into a super-mutant. The part was originally played by Brian Cox in 2003's 'X2'.

Production on the hotly anticipated 'X-Men' spin-off is finally about to start production and Fox has announced it will hit cinemas on May 1 2009.

'Wolverine' will be based on the original Marvel comic books and will follow Jackman's character Logan as he struggles to discover his past and avenge the death of his girlfriend.

The hero will learn how he came to be in Stryker's secret Weapon X program, which saw Stryker use Logan's mutant healing powers to fuse a virtually indestructible metal alloy to his skeleton.

Other mutants will feature in the film, but it is not yet known if they will be the same ones from the 'X-Men' film trilogy.

The movie will begin shooting later this year at Fox's studio complex in Australia, before moving on to New Zealand and then wrapping up in New Orleans.

Jackman, 37, and his partner John Palermo will co-produce 'Wolverine' through their Seed Productions company, along with producers of the original 'X-Men' films and Marvel's Kevin Feige. The script has been penned by 'Troy' writer David Benioff.

Fox is also developing a spin-off film centered around X-Men enemy Magneto, played by Sir Ian McKellen, telling the story of how the young mutant discovered his powers during the Holocaust and his quest for vengeance against both his Nazi captors and anti-mutant factions.

(C) BANG Media International