Any actor that’s played a superhero for an extended period of time is open to admitting it gets much harder as the years go by, so Hugh Jackman deserves all the credit in the world for pounding the gym with a vengeance ahead of his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Wolverine in Deadpool 3.
After all, by the time the franchise’s first R-rated installment hits theaters in November of 2024, the Academy Award-nominated actor will be 56 years old, almost a decade longer in the tooth than co-star Ryan Reynolds. While the affable Aussie has never been short on confidence or self-belief, he has admitted that he’s starting to feel the pressure.
Reynolds recently opened up on Jackman’s hotly-anticipated comeback to the world of comic book adaptations, and although a surprising amount of praise was dished out, the longtime Logan did reveal he was “petrified” about going toe-to-toe with the leading man in the shirtless stakes, because virtually every entry in the genre needs the obligatory shot to showcase how hard the talent have worked to chisel themselves into incredible shape.
While there’s nothing wrong with a little friendly competition, you’d expect the rivalry between Jackman and Reynolds is more on the heated side given their long and illustrious history of roasting each other into oblivion.
They might have both had their biceps on full display during their first team-up in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but it’s better to pretend that movie never existed, and given the Merc with a Mouth’s love of breaking the fourth wall, it might even be reasonable to expect some figurative d*ck-measuring to make its way into the screenplay, too.
