Hugh Jackman Says Wolverine/Deadpool Ideas Have Been “Brewing For A Long Time” & Envisions A ’48 Hrs.’-Esque Dynamic

Just about a month ago, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman blew up the internet with the reveal that Wolverine would be returning in “Deadpool 3.” Since then, people have been asking a lot of questions. How long has this been in the works? What is the film going to look like? Can Hugh Jackman turn in one more worthwhile Wolverine performance after “Logan?” Well, we don’t have answers to all of those questions, but Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman did shed some light on that in a new Variety profile.

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Speaking to Variety, Ryan Reynolds talked about the first conversations between him and Kevin Feige, the Marvel Studios boss, about the possibilities that would come with the “X-Men” universe colliding with the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the Fox/Disney merger several years ago. And yes, the idea of Wolverine was mentioned. 

“I got Kevin to talk about what, if anything, the future holds for Deadpool in that transaction,” Reynolds said. “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.”

Now, enough time has gone by and the idea of a Deadpool/Wolverine team-up is actually coming to fruition. But perhaps the biggest question, especially when it comes to Jackman returning, is “Why?” 

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“A little part of me now thinks I’d be better at it,” Jackman said. “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.”

Well before the Disney/Fox merger happened, Hugh Jackman was already thinking about Wolverine and Deadpool teaming up in the “X-Men” universe. Just watching the original “Deadpool” gave him an immediate idea of how the team up would look 

“I went to a screening of ‘Deadpool.’ I was 20 minutes in, and I was like, ‘Ah, damn it!’” Jackman explained. “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.”

Apparently, after all the pleading from Reynolds for Jackman to return, it wasn’t until this August that the deal was done and everything was official. Now, they just have to decide on a title because Jackman doesn’t think “Deadpool 3” is good enough.

“I’m pretty sure Wolverine wouldn’t like that title,” he said.

“Deadpool 3” is set to arrive in theaters on November 8, 2024.