Jessica Biel cast as Viper in The Wolverine

Jessica Biel will join Hugh Jackman in the cast for next years film The Wolverine.

Biel will play Viper in the sixth installment of the X-Men series of films, according to Examiner. The film is a direct sequel to the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Vulture reports that Biels character is both a love interest and enemy to Wolverine in the comics.

According to Marvels website, Viper originates from a war-torn Eastern European country and is involved in several parts of Wolverines story. She and her mentor Seraph rescue Wolverine from Sabretooth and, at one point, Wolverine agrees to marry Viper, although Viper has ulterior motives for the arrangement.

In the comics, Viper is a frequent enemy to the X-Men and makes several attempts to set up a double agent in The Avengers.

The film is scheduled for release July 26, 2013. Filming is expected to begin next month in primary filming location Australia.

The film will be directed by James Mangold, best-known for directing the 2005 film Walk the Line, and will be based on a script by Mark Bomback, who penned the screenplay for 2007s Live Free or Die Hard, and Christopher McQuarrie, who wrote the 1995 suspense thriller The Usual Suspects.