“X-Men” star Hugh Jackman must have loved his experience playing a popular comic book superhero because he is going to be making his own comic. “Nowhere Man” is the title of the character that the Australian movie star is developing for Virgin Comics. “I’ve had so much fun in the graphic novel world with the ‘X-Men‘ franchise that I wanted to get even more involved. I’m excited to work with Virgin and Marc and create a compelling character and story that hopefully will also make it to the bigscreen,” Jackman told Variety. Virgin Comics has recruited other Hollywood talent to make their comics including Nicolas Cage and “Revolver” director Guy Ritchie.

The idea is for “Nowhere Man” to launch first as a comic book and then take it to other platforms such as videogames or even as a movie that would star Jackman. The storyline is a carefully guarded secret but what little is known about the comic is that it is set in a future society where people have given up their privacy for personal safety.

Jackman is currently in Australia playing his character of Wolverine for a fourth outing in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” for 20^th Century Fox. It is scheduled for release in May 2009.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is now filming in Australia. The first spinoff from 20^th Century Fox’s successful “X-Men” film franchise is being directed by Gavin Hood. Hugh Jackman reprises his role as Wolverine, a mutant with a swift healing factor and a metal-laced skeleton that makes him the perfect killing machine. “X-Men Origins” will show us what it promises, namely the origin of Wolverine, how he came to be trained as a killer for the military, the process by which the adamantium metal was fused to his skeleton as well as other surprises including new and returning mutant characters.

“I think one of the reasons the X-Men took off is that it connected in a way nobody saw,” Jackman said recently about why the franchise was so big with people. “They’re mutants with powers. But they’re also outcasts for being, and everyone connects with that on some level. And who wouldn’t want the power to get back at the people who ostracized you?”

Jackman is also a producer on the new movie. If “Wolverine” is a hit like the three “X-Men” movies Fox already has a plan to spinoff the villain “Magneto” in his own film. Ian McKellen played the silver-haired foe throughout the “X-Men” series and is game for returning in another film.

Hugh Jackman is pushing ahead with plans to spin his “X-Men” character of Wolverine off into his own series of movies. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is going to be directed by Gavin Hood (“Rendition”) later this year and will be in theaters on May 1, 2009. Circling the cast is Liev Schreiber for the part of Colonel William Stryker. Stryker was played by Brian Cox in the second “X-Men” movie but because this is a movie about the origin of Wolverine’s special metal claws and why he suffers from amnesia the part is being recast with a younger actor. Jackman’s mutant also doesn’t age the same as regular people do which allows him to look just the same as he does in the “X-Men” movies.

It is rumored that the “Wolverine” movie will introduce a host of new mutants familiar to fans of the Marvel comic book series. One character that seems a given is Gambit, a southern gentleman thief who made his base of operations in New Orleans. Coincidentally or not that city is also where Hood will film part of the “Wolverine” movie as well as New Zealand and Australia, Jackman’s home continent. Maybe one or two of the other “X-Men” cast will turn up for a cameo appearance in the “Wolverine” movie. What’s Halle Berry doing right now anyway?