Hugh Jackman bid farewell to Wolverine in the 2017 film Logan. The character’s death and subsequent burial seemed like a literal and figurative sign that Jackman was committed to closing that nearly 20-year chapter of his acting career. However, that didn’t stop people from asking him to run it back one more time because, as any superhero fan knows, nothing is really set in stone.
It turns out that they were right.
Ryan Reynolds announced last month that the still-in-development Deadpool 3 led to his friend Jackman nonchalantly agreeing to reprise his role as Wolverine. The actor admitted to Variety that he started having a change of heart while watching Deadpool in 2016.
“I went to a screening of Deadpool. I was 20 minutes in, and I was like, ‘Ah, damn it!’ All I kept seeing in my head was 48 Hours with Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy,” he said. “So it’s been brewing for a long time. It just took me longer to get here.”
Jackman said he received calls “on the daily” from Reynolds where he would urge him to consider a Deadpool and Wolverine movie, but it wasn’t until a road trip to the beach with his family at the end of August that 54-year-old ultimately decided to come back. “I think, actually, he’d given up,” Jackman said of his phone call with Reynolds. “I think it was a big shock to him. There was a massive pause, and then he said, ‘I can’t believe the timing of this.’”
Reynolds was going to meet with Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige about the direction of Deadpool 3, and was thrilled to deliver the news that he got a commitment out of Jackman. Reynolds told Variety he spoke with Feige following Disney’s acquisition of Fox three and a half years ago and mentioned bringing in Wolverine, saying it “wasn’t possible then” and that “for this to be happening now is pretty damn exciting.”
“Oh my God, I’m thrilled,” Reynolds told the magazine. “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.”
The third installment in the R-rated series is scheduled for Nov. 8, 2024, but don’t expect it to be called Deadpool 3. “Well, not in my heart,” Jackman said of the tentative name. “I’m pretty sure Wolverine wouldn’t like that title.”
