Wolverine Set Photos Hit the Web

At a time when everyone has a cell phone, and every cell phone has a camera, movies only have to be shooting for a few hours before the first material starts to leak. And while some studios, deeply uncomfortable with that fact, are trying to run from it, some (like Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox) appear to be taking advantage of the interest in every little bit of their productions by either releasing photos early or at least allowing reporters the kind of access that used to be rare (or at least embargoed) on the set of A-list Hollywood films.Such is the case with The Wolverine, 20th Century Fox’s continuation of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, in which Hugh Jackman makes his way to Japan to (probably loosely) adapt a classic tale by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. Digital Spy has the photos, which are spreading like wildfire around the Internet.With that title, it’s easy to wonder to what extent the film will be a “real-world revamp,” and that answer isn’t immediately clear–although certainly it appears at least on the face of it to be more character-centric and less of a superhero-cameo orgy than the last movie was.While most of the conversation online so far is revolving around Hugh Jackman appearing in long hair and a beard (we’ll call it his Old Man Logan look, just for fun), there are also a few shots of him in action, svelte and short-haired as ever, as well as some that just give a sense for the set. One even features Jackman’s castmate Svetlana Khodchenkova (who will play Viper), although she appears to be off-camera.The Wolverine is set to hit theaters on July 26, 2013.