Could WOLVERINE 3 See The Return Of The Yakuza And Finally Pit Omega Red Against Logan?

20th Century Fox is currently putting together a sequel to The Wolverine. Today, it was revealed that James Mangold is in talks with the studio to return. The third film would see Mangold help develop the story along with directing, if he signs on. It’s interesting that Fox didn’t already have him locked-in for future installments. While details of the next film are pretty much non-existent. I have my own theories of how a sequel could move forward and have strong connections to The Wolverine.

We’ve already mentioned that supervillain Omega Red has been hinted to in previous X-Men installements. However, there’s a bit more that could connect Arkady Rossovich to this new series of Wolverine films. To be specific James Mangold’s untitled Wolverine 3. Rossovich is placed in cryogenics during the fall of the Soviet Union. As the KGB experimented with the mutant serial killer. Trying their own hand at developing a super solider. Not unlike Captain America. During Logan’s time in the Weapon X Program (alongside Sabertooth) he fought against the Communist controlled Omega Red. When the fall of Soviet Union was apparent. Omega got stashed away along with the other dirty secrets of Marvel’s KGB. Arkady is a fan favorite villain and has links to the Japanese underworld. A theme that was used in The Wolverine with the Yakuza making it’s presence known. Having the sequel with a direct connection to Japan could be a great way to move forward. I’d enjoy seeing James Mangold fix the origin issues and give the Weapon X Program a much needed revamp. Perhaps, used in flashbacks scenes that could tell the origin of Rossovich and the Russian super soldier program.

 Yakuza crimelord Matsu’o Tsurayaba would later acquire Omega and add him to his collection of assassins. Besides being involved with the Yakuza and terrorist organizations, Matta also becomes the leader of the deadly ninja clan The Hand. Some members of The Hand include Viper, Silver Samurai, Blink (from Days of Future Past), Alpha Flight’s Northstar, Omega Red, Psylocke and even Wolverine.

The rights to The Hand reverted back to Marvel. Since their origins come from the Daredevil comics and The Kingpin. It’s not out of the question that the same replacement ninja clan used in The Wolverine could also be headed or taken over by Tsurayaba. We never really saw a Yakuza boss who dispatched the gangsters after Logan and Mariko. Only one thing was revealed about the Yakuza. They were hired by Shingen to secure his reign at the company. Allowing the plausible idea that Matsu’o could have been behind the kidnapping gangsters. Since it’s never mentioned that Shingen himself if apart of the Yakuza. Maybe, there was a pact between Shigen and Matta over sharing the company.

Revenge on Logan and Clan Yashida from Tsurayaba wouldn’t be hard to imagine. Considering that a whole heap of Yakuza were butchered or maimed by Wolverine throughout the movie. There are even some interesting Yakuza characters from the comics that never made it into the film. Yakuza members like Tomi Shishido, Goro and Ogun (Logan’s ninjutsu master) are able to go toe-to-toe with Logan in a few encounters. Ogun is a telepath and takes over Kitty Pryde’s mind when he switches from mentor to villain. In the comics, Tsurayaba attempts a take over of the Yashida Clan.This eventually leads to the death of Mariko. We know that Mariko is still alive and well at the end of The Wolverine.

At one point Tsurayaba leads an alliance between The Hand and Hydra. Viper is apart of both Hydra and The Hand but that former aspect had to be removed. The rights for the use of both villain groups now belong to Marvel. Including Viper’s codename and title Madame Hydra. Leading me to speculate that Viper might have actually been working for Matus’o the entire time. Her tentacle robots that suppress Logan’s mutant regeneration powers have similarities to Omega Red’s carbonadium tentacles. Which is made from an artificial version of adamantium created by the Soviets. Red uses them as grabbing weapons along with the ability to drain the life-force from his victims. As he needs life-force from others to survive. Basically, he’s a vampiric cyborg with the mind of a serial killer. An intensely dark comic book villain even by Marvel’s standards. Omega is a ticking time-bomb as he can’t be controlled and becomes a massive threat to everyone in his path. Tsurayaba wants Wolverine for his own means like Yashida did. Instead he wants to use Logan’s healing abilities on Rossovich to better control him.

His connections to the X-Men universe doesn’t stop there. The Hand brainwashes Elizabeth “Betsy” Braddock also known as X-Men member Psylocke. She would become an assassin for The Mandarin with the alias Lady Mandarin. Previous to her membership in the X-Men, Elizabeth worked for the British version of S.H.I.E.L.D which is called S.T.R.I.K.E (thanks Alan Moore!). Besty lands in their psychic division and would later see her telekinesis, fighting skills and added powers increase over the years.

There is a bit of a body switching sub-plot with Lady Mandarin that involves another assassin sharing the same body. Kwannon, who is the lover of Tsurayaba and just also happens to work as an assassin for rival crimelord named Nyoirin. This explains Betsy’s comic book transformation from British to Japanese. Psylocke and Kwannon share the same body which could attribute to an interesting conflict. As Psylocke/Kwannon’s loyalties differ. Matus’o eventually tasks Lady Mandarin to kill Wolverine. Her origin is pretty hectic so check out this video. Adding Psylocke could either help setup X-Force or connect Wolverine 3 to that film, depending on which film comes out first. She is apart of the modern X-Force lineup, so it’s not out of the realm of possibilities.

While there are plenty of other villains that Logan could face in solo future films. Which include Ogun, Cyber, Romulus, The Reavers, Wendigo, Daken (way too early to bring him out) and Lady Deathstrike (rebooted or resurrected). In my opinion, Tsurayaba and Omega Red are strong contenders for Wolverine 3. Mariko’s fate is in the comics and this would connect very well to the last installment. Along with giving Logan a solid reason to finally let out the full force of his berserker rage. However, I’m sure Fox, producers, Hugh Jackman and James Mangold have their own ideas of where it should go next.