For some time now we’ve known that Hugh Jackman has been eyeing an end to his career in claws. He first played Logan/Wolverine in 2000’s X-Men, making Jackman the longest-tenured superhero actor in Hollywood and neck-and-neck with Robert Downey, Jr. as the most prolific. But the next film in the spinoff Wolverine series will reportedly be his last as an X-Men character.
That’s not to say Wolverine will necessarily disappear, if the X-Men films keep going. For his part, Jackman has stated that he’d like to see Tom Hardy next in line for the role. And one way or another it’s easy to imagine Marvel and 20th Century Fox keeping the character alive.
Whatever happens in the future, however, Jackman’s fans will now turn their attention toward Wolverine 3 (not an official title), which will reportedly involve the “Old Man Logan” storyline from the comics. As explained here, the Old Man Logan story basically revolves around an aging Logan who’s reluctant to take up his Wolverine persona, but eventually cracks and basically goes on a rampage. Fans are intrigued by the idea largely because it’s a particularly violent storyline and would continue the trend toward more adult content in superhero films (such as we just saw in Deadpool). And for Jackman, it might be the perfect way to go out.
When Jackman first started as Logan/Wolverine, modern superhero cinema was largely unproven. To put things in context, X-Men debuted two years before Sam Raimi’s first Tobey Maguire-starring Spider-Man, three years before Hulk, and eight years before Iron Man. And it had nothing to build on from ’90s superhero films aside from a few Batman projects and 1998’s Blade. In short, it was a bold film, and Jackman not only headlined the effort, but quickly became the face of the X-Men in cinema. That was no easy feat, particularly given that the character he played is best known in comics for wearing a full mask!
In the 15-plus years since, Jackman has solidified himself as the steady face of the franchise, having taken it through multiple cinematic timelines and the aforementioned Wolverine spinoff series. He’s even come to represent the X-Men in gaming. The 2009 game X-Men Origins: Wolverine is one of the best reviewed superhero video games of the past decade, and it uses voice acting from Jackman as well as an animated rendering of him (rather than a generic character design). Additionally, Jackman is front and center on a very popular X-Men slot machine that’s available at numerous casino sites. The game is described as being “based on the classic Marvel comic,” and it certainly is, but once again we see Jackman’s likeness trumping the comic image of Wolverine.
In addition to dominating the film series and appearing in numerous video games, Jackman has also played a major promotional role in the success of the X-Men and Wolverine films. For 15 years, he’s constantly teased new ideas by either revealing information about upcoming films or tweeting little tidbits for fans. Just this past December, he even hijacked the promotional cycle for Deadpool, doing his part to support a fellow X-Men character despite not being involved with the project!
Through it all, Jackman has helped the X-Men and Wolverine franchises grow to new heights. The films have always been enjoyed by fans, but some of the most recent ones have been the most mature projects and the most well-received by critics. The whole concept of X-Men films has grown from a bold risk in 2000 to a beloved Hollywood mainstay. And if the Old Man Logan story is truly at the heart of the final Wolverine movie, it’s a fitting last hurrah for an actor who’s had so much to do with this progression.
The project is expected to be a violent, R-rated adventure centering entirely on some advanced character development of Logan/Wolverine. And with superhero films moving to appeal to more adult audiences, such a project would be a nice finish line for Jackman. He may just use his final film to carry the X-Men into a whole new era of superhero cinema.