Feature Film
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
2009
Filmed In
Otago · Fiordland & Southland
Towns & Areas
Queenstown, Glenorchy and Lake Wakatipu · Milford Sound
The Story
The explosive backstory of Marvel's most iconic mutant. This superhero blockbuster traces Logan's dark past, his complex relationship with his brother Victor, and the sinister military experiment that bonded adamantium to his skeleton.
The Stars
Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, and Ryan Reynolds. This ensemble anchors a film shot across some of the South Island's most dramatic lake and mountain scenery.
Behind the Lens
Gavin Hood. Hood took on the franchise spin-off after earlier acclaimed work in more serious dramatic filmmaking.
Why NZ?
The filmmakers needed a location that could convincingly double as the remote, breathtaking Canadian Rockies. They found their paradise in the South Island, filming around the jaw-dropping landscapes of Queenstown, Milford Sound, and the pristine waters of Lake Wakatipu. The combination of lake, mountain, and fjord within a single production radius is part of why the South Island keeps attracting productions needing this kind of scale. The combination of lake, mountain, and fjord scenery within a single production radius remains a rare geographic advantage.
On Set
Liev Schreiber, playing Victor Creed, has joked that the strict high-protein diet required to bulk up for the role amounted to what he called "the genocide of chickens." Few countries could offer this particular combination of scenery within one production's travel radius.
Legacy
Based on Marvel Comics' most enduring mutant, the film marked Wolverine's first solo screen outing after several ensemble X-Men films, and became one of the studio's higher-grossing entries in the franchise.
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