Hugh Jackman Talks About His Return as Wolverine

Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds Talk About the Return of Wolverine

Following the surprise announcement on social media last month, Jackman and Reynolds have opened up about a Deadpool/Wolverine team up.

Hugh Jackman as James Howlett / Logan / Wolverine in director James Mangold's 'Logan.'

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

The movie has been in the works for a while now, with Reynolds developing the script first alongside ‘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’ is on board to marshal the madness of a third outing for Reynolds’ Wade Wilson, the Merc with a Mouth.

But the idea that Wolverine would be part of that movie is something that Reynolds has been hoping for before any of that happened, as he explains in a new piece about Jackman in Variety. He approached Marvel boss Kevin Feige about Deadpool and more shortly after the Disney-Fox merger that saw Feige’s team reclaim hold of mutant characters such as the X-Men.

“I got Kevin to talk what, if anything, the future holds for Deadpool in that transaction,” Reynolds says. “The subject was coming up in the meeting about if we could find a way to do a Deadpool-Wolverine pairing. It wasn’t possible then. For this to be happening now is pretty damn exciting.”

(L to R) Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman discuss Marvel Studios' 'Deadpool 3.' Photo courtesy of Ryan Reynolds YouTube channel.

Though Jackman had been insistent that 2017’s ‘Logan’ represented the last time he’d submit to the grueling training sessions and emotional work that comes with the character, he changed his mind after constant requests from his friend Reynolds and one particular moment.

“I went to a screening of ‘Deadpool.’ I was 20 minutes in, and I was like, ‘Ah, damn it!’” Jackman admits. “All I kept seeing in my head was ‘48 Hrs.’ with Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy. So it’s been brewing for a long time. It just took me longer to get here. A little part of me now thinks I’d be better at it. Is that arrogance of age or something? Wolverine’s a tortured character — more tortured than me. But I always get the feeling of him being comfortable in his own skin. And I feel more comfortable in my own skin now, even though it’s messier.”

Reynolds is naturally happy that he’s finally been able to convince Jackman to come back. “Oh my God, I’m thrilled,” Reynolds explains. “It’s like old home week. To get to be on set with one of my closest friends each and every day is a dream come true. But to do it with these two iconic characters side by side, that’s beyond our wildest dreams.”

How the pair will be brought together and what the story of ‘Deadpool 3’ is exactly, is being kept quiet for now. But the movie itself will be out on November 8th, 2024.