Hugh Jackman Talks About His Return As Wolverine

Ryan Reynolds, a man who knows something about using social media – or any medium – to his advantage, made a big surprise last month when he announced that Hugh Jackman would be returning as Wolverine for the third ‘Deadpool’ film.

The film has been in the works for a while now, with Reynolds developing the script first with ‘Bob’s Burgers’ duo Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin, and then with regular ‘Deadpool’ scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.

Shawn Levy, who directed Reynolds in ‘Free Guy’ and ‘The Adam Project’ stepped in to organize a third outing frenzy for Reynolds’ Wade Wilson, Merc with a Mouth.

But the idea that Wolverine would be a part of the film was something Reynolds had hoped for before all that happened, as he explains in a new chapter on Jackman at Variety. He approached Marvel boss Kevin Feige about Deadpool and shortly after the Disney-Fox merger that saw Feige’s team reclaim mutant characters like the X-Men.

“I asked Kevin to talk about what, if anything, Deadpool’s future was in that transaction,” Reynolds said. “The subject came up at the meeting about whether we could find a way to do a Deadpool-Wolverine pairing. It wasn’t possible then. For this to happen now is very interesting. ”

Although Jackman insisted that 2017’s ‘Logan’ represented the last time he would be subject to the grueling training sessions and emotional work that accompanies the character, he changed his mind after constant requests from his friend Reynolds and one particular moment.

“I went to the screening of ‘Deadpool.’ I was in 20 minutes, and I was like, ‘Ah, damn it!’” Jackman admits. “All I keep seeing in my head is ’48 Hours.’ with Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy. So it’s been brewing for a long time. I just need more time to get here. A small part of me now thinks I’d be better at it. Is it age arrogance or something? Wolverine is a tormented character — more tormented than me. But I always felt she was comfortable in her own skin. And I feel more comfortable in my own skin now, even if it’s more messy.”

Reynolds was naturally happy that he could finally convince Jackman to return. “Oh my God, I’m excited,” Reynolds explained. “It’s like old house week. To be on set with one of my closest friends every day is a dream come true. But to do it with these two iconic characters side by side, it was beyond our wildest dreams.”

How this pair will meet and what the true story of ‘Deadpool 3’ will be, is still being kept secret for now. However, the film itself will only be released on November 8, 2024.