AceShowbiz -

The Hugh Jackman era as Wolverine may be over soon after "The Wolverine 3" but the character won't completely disappear from the screen. Bryan Singer confirms that "X-Force" film is in development and it could feature X-23, a female version of Wolverine.

In an interview with Fandango, Singer was talking about the possibility of X-23 appearing in "The Wolverine 2" and, consequently, the "X-Force" film. He said, "I have discussed that with the studio [20th Century Fox]. I actually initially pitched the X-Force and the female."

Singer also revealed that producer Simon Kinberg was "in the earliest script stage" of the "X-Force" project. This would only mean that the one written by Jeff Wadlow was scrapped and the studio opted for a new take.

In another interview, Singer said he would like to make "X-Force" an R-rated film like the successful "Deadpool". He told Den of Geek, "But it has to be done right. Anytime you throw all these characters together to hit a start date, it can make a lot of money, but it can also be a clusterf**k. To me, it has to be done with a lot of care. These things can get overwhelming, and if a character doesn't belong in a movie, don't use him. If the tone can still maintain itself, I'm all for it. What I'm not for is throwing a bunch of characters together and hoping it works."

The "X-Force" movie is a long-gestating project first confirmed by comic book creator Rob Liefeld in 2014. He said at that time that the script was complete and the film could be released in 2018. However, it got delayed because Fox was fast-tracking "X-Men: Apocalypse", which is directed by Singer and will arrive on May 27.