Dominic Monaghan Joins 'Wolverine'

This is turning into 'X-Men 4'

By: Brad Brevet
Published: Friday, February 22nd 2008 at 12:11 AM

Okay, is this X-Men 4 or Wolverine? Suddenly I think we have just as many mutants cast in Fox's X-Men Origins: Wolverine as we had in the three installments of X-Men. Today we learn that "Lost" and Lord of the Rings star Dominic Monaghan is joining the cast as Barnell, a mysterious character from Wolverine's past who has the ability to manipulate energy and electricity.

Along with Monaghan, newcomer, Daniel Henney also joins that cast. Henney will play Agent Zero, a member of the Weapon X program and an expert tracker with lethal marksman skills.

The story of Wolverine details the title character's past leading up to the events covered in the 2001 film X-Men. The flick will detail Wolverine's epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe.

By "legends" this means characters such as Deadpool played by Ryan Reynolds, Gambit played by Taylor Kitsch and rumors of an appearance by The Blob.

Filming is underway in New Zealand, Australia and New Orleans under the direction of Gavin Hood with a script written by David Benioff. The film is set for a May 1, 2009 release.