Is Hugh Jackman growing tired of the mutton chops and adamantium claws? Since 2000’s “X-Men,” the actor has been the hirsute face of Wolverine across a three X-Men movies, and one terrible standalone film, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Coming up, we’ll be getting a double dose of the star as Logan in this summer’s “The Wolverine” and next year’s “X-Men: Days Of Future Past” (and let’s not forget he popped up ever so briefly in “X-Men: First Class“). Essentially, Jackman has been playing the character for well over a decade now, and it seems he might be ready to pass the torch.
“I wasn’t even sure after the first [stand-alone] film if I would do another,” he told EW. “I won’t say never, because I’m still loving it. But there would have to be a pretty compelling reason.” Part of the hesitance might be due to the largely negative reaction of his first solo outing in ‘Origins,’ a mess of a movie that even diehard fanboys have a hard time making excuses for.
“…we could have done better,” Jackman shared with the magazine. “Somehow the first Wolverine movie ended up looking like the fourth X-Men — just with different characters. I left unsure if we’d achieved our goal, which was to make sure people understood my character.”
So, we’ll see if any compelling reasons come along for Jackman to continue as everyone’s favorite Wolverine, whether they be financial or artistic. But producer Hutch Parker likely reflects the thoughts of many that anybody else in the role “feels somewhat blasphemous.” Can you see anyone else baring the superhero claws?
“The Wolverine” opens on July 26th.
