Marvel Picks New Wolverine Richard Armitage; Where Will 'The Hobbit' Star Appear?
Marvel officially picks a new Wolverine. "The Hobbit" star Richard Armitage is the next actor after Hugh Jackman who will play the popular X-Men character.
Armitage, however, won't be seen on-screen as Wolverine. Instead, he'll lend his voice to the character in Marvel's first-ever podcast about the mutant also known as Logan.
"Wolverine: The Long Night" will have 10 podcast episodes that comic book author Ben Percy wrote. It will follow two federal agents on the hunt of a serial killer in Alaska and the only trail they have led to Logan.
Joining Armitage in the podcast series are Celia Keenan-Bolger and Ato Essandoh as the voices of the agents Sally Pierce and Tad Marshall. Andrew Keenan-Bolger also stars as the deputy in the fictional Alaskan town. The podcast also features the voices of Chris Gethard, Scott Adsit, Bob Balaban, Jordan Bridges, Michael J. Burg, David Call, Zoe Chao, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Chaske Spencer and Lannon Killea.
"This tremendous cast will bring a thrilling level of intrigue and drama to our listeners," Marvel's head of New Media Dan Silver said. "The character of Logan and this landscape make it the ideal premiere vehicle for us, and we're excited to continue to explore the dynamic possibilities of the podcast medium."
The podcast is a way for Marvel to expand its popular characters. Armitage, however, won't likely figure in a movie or TV show as Wolverine in the future since Marvel doesn't hold any film rights to the X-Men characters. It's FOX that owns that franchise.
Meanwhile, Percy teased that "Wolverine: The Long Night" imbibes the classic true-crime format. The podcast listeners will piece the clues together and try cracking the mysteries.
"There are all these broken pieces that are being fitted together, and a shifting set of suspects," Percy stated. "Every episode you learn more, and at the same time recognize that you've been mistaken all along."
"Wolverine: The Long Night" will arrive on Stitcher Premium in the spring of 2018.
