Hugh Jackman signing off as the iconic Wolverine in 2017’s Logan shattered hearts. If only fans had known the X-Men hero would be pulled back into the Marvel universe nearly a decade later, it would have saved them the massive heartache. But Jackman’s comeback in Deadpool & Wolverine almost didn’t happen.
The Hollywood star was advised to not return as Logan by someone significant in the Marvel world, per reports. As the most anticipated Marvel movie treads closer to its premiere, Jackman reminisces about the time when he accepted his comeback as Wolverine.
Hugh Jackman spills the beans on Wolverine’s return
Marvel Studios President, Kevin Feige tried to convince Hugh Jackman not to take the role because he felt that Wolverine had the best character ending in “history” in 2017’s Logan. In an exclusive interview with Empire on May 2, Thursday, Feige recalled, “I said, ‘Let me give you a piece of advice, Hugh. Don’t come back’.”
“‘You had the greatest ending in history with Logan. That’s not something we should undo’,” the Marvel head continued. But that was not it for the 55-year-old actor. Besides the comeback, Jackman’s Wolverine has more to offer in Deadpool & Wolverine. The movie will potentially present different variants of his character, the iconic team-up of Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool and Wolverine, and the actor finally gets to don Wolverine’s iconic yellow suit like in the comics.
Wade Wilson and Logan’s anticipated reunion, after Reynold’s Deadpool first featured in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, was only an idea awaiting to be signaled by Jackman. “I was about an hour into the drive. And that question came into my head: ‘What do I want to do?’” the Australian actor spoke of his decision.
The X-Men star divulged that the sole answer that sprung into his head was “I wanted to do Deadpool & Wolverine.” “I just knew it. I drove for another hour. Couldn’t stop thinking about it. And I got out of the car, called Ryan, and said, ‘Ryan, if you’ll have me, I’m in’,” Jackman recounted.
Hugh Jackman’s phone call to Ryan Reynolds changed everything
Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy, who has worked with both stars in former projects, revealed that Jackman’s phone call was a “seismic shift” in the movie-making process. He and Reynolds had brainstormed ideas about the third Deadpool sequel ever since the duo worked on 2022’s The Adam Project.
On Tuesday, May 7, Levy told ET, “Everything changed radically on the day that Hugh called Ryan.” Speaking of the ideas he and the Deadpool star had worked out, the director shared, “Those were story ideas that were more sequelly to the first two Deadpools, but None of them imagined such a seismic shift.” But Jackman’s call, with whom Levy had worked in 2021’s Free Guy, was a complete game changer. The director further noted that compelling story ideas came rushing to them the same day itself.
Other film collaborations of Levy and Jackman are 2011’s Real Steel and 2014’s Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.
Deadpool & Wolverine will hit theatres on July 26, 2024.
