After playing Wolverine in nine movies across 17 years, Hugh Jackman established the character as one of the most popular and iconic that the superhero genre has ever seen, with his swansong in Logan delivering what is arguably one of the best comic book movies ever made. Despite seemingly hanging up the adamantium claws and riding off into the sunset though, there’ve always been rumors that the Australian actor could be tempted to suit up one more time, especially with Marvel Studios now possessing the big screen rights to the X-Men.
The mutants are inevitably going to show up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some point in the future, and whoever plays Wolverine will undoubtedly be under the most intense scrutiny given how closely Jackman is linked to the character. That being said, we’re now hearing that the door is still open for the 50 year-old to continue playing Logan once the X-Men join the MCU.
Recent reports indicated that Marvel were looking at adapting the iconic Wolverine vs. Hulk storyline as one of their upcoming projects and apparently, the studio is hoping that the actor will return for the film. According to TVO from the Lords of the Long Box YouTube channel:
“It’s Hugh Jackman’s part to turn down. They are leaving the door open for him.”
While this has yet to be confirmed by any official sources, it’s important to remember that Jackman himself has claimed that the only way he would reconsider his decision to stop playing Wolverine was if he was offered the chance to co-star alongside some of the Avengers, which he revealed in several interviews following the release of Logan, saying:
“The Avengers would prove too much to turn down. Because I always love the idea of Wolverine within that dynamic, with the Hulk obviously, with Iron Man… At the moment, honestly, if I really did have them there, I probably wouldn’t have said that this is the last.”
Though this is definitely exciting to think about, it’d probably be for the best if the MCU left Wolverine alone entirely, at least for a while. Jackman seems increasingly unlikely to put himself through the rigorous training it takes to play the role, and anybody else who steps into his shoes is always going to be unfairly compared to what came before. Everyone from Taron Egerton and Keanu Reeves to Daniel Radcliffe has been linked to Wolverine recently, and there are plenty of X-Men characters that Marvel can use instead of focusing on the one that’s virtually impossible to recast. Unless they listen to the fans and name Danny DeVito as Jackman’s successor, of course, in which case all is forgiven.
