Written by on Apr 20, 2012. Posted in Production News

X-Men follow-up The Wolverine to film on location in Sydney with Hugh Jackman

X-Men follow-up feature The Wolverine will film on location in Sydney, Australia, from August this year. The story is set in Japan, but the production will be based at Sydney’s Fox Studios, where previous feature X-Men Origins: Wolverine was also partly filmed.

The new shoot will create more than 720 local jobs and generate around AUD80 million in regional spending.

Hugh Jackman will reprise the role that made him a superstar: “I couldn't be more excited to return to Australia to film the next chapter in the Wolverine saga, thanks to the significant support from the Federal and NSW Governments.

“It will be great to work with the highly talented crew and to provide employment opportunities to so many people across all levels of the industry. Not to mention, [my wife] Deb and I will get to spend some time with the family back in Australia!”

Jackman praised Julia Gillard, the Australian Prime Minister, for helping secure the shoot for Australia. The Government has agreed to make a AUD12.8 million one-off payment to the production.

I couldn't be more excited to return to Australia to film the next chapter in the Wolverine saga, thanks to the significant support from the Federal and NSW Governments.

Hugh Jackman

Together with Simon Crean, Australian Minister for the Arts, Gillard said: “The payment effectively provided The Wolverine a one-off investment package equivalent to an increase in the existing Location Offset to 30%. Without this effective tax offset incentive, the producers of The Wolverine would not have chosen Australia as the location.”

It’s a terrific boost for the Australian film industry, which has been struggling to appeal internationally in recent years because of its strong dollar and intense competition from filming incentives around the world.

The Steven Spielberg-produced prehistoric adventure series Terra Nova filmed its single season in Queensland but has since been cancelled. Earlier this year a performance-capture adaptation of Paradise Lost planned for Fox Studios Sydney was cancelled due to a spiralling budget.