As long as there have been X-Men movies, Wolverine has generally been front and centre. While the adamantium-clawed mutant isn’t the team’s leader – nor usually central in the comics or cartoons – Hugh Jackman’s incarnation of Logan became the focal point of the original X-Men trilogy, as well as several Wolverine spin-off films (including deeply emotional send-off Logan), and timeline-hopping crossovers like Days Of Future Past. But even amid all those outings, there’s still fresh ground to be covered in Jackman’s long-awaited return to the role. Yes, he’s donning the claws again – years after thinking he was done for good – in Deadpool & Wolverine, teaming up with Ryan Reynolds’ Merc With A Mouth for a Marvel movie like no other.
And, as he tells Empire, it brought plenty of fresh opportunities with it – including getting to wear the character’s iconic yellow get-up in the flesh for the first time. “We almost did it in The Wolverine,” Jackman says. “But from the moment I put it on here, I was like, ‘How did we never do this?’ It looked so right, it felt so right. I was like, ‘That’s him.’ There are different sides of Wolverine we haven’t seen before in the movies. It was exciting for me.” Plus, in his new buddy team-up, Wolverine has plenty to offer the notorious Mr. Pool too. “It’s great for Deadpool to have someone who will punch him in the face,” Jackman laughs.
Of anyone, it was Kevin Feige who was most nervous about Jackman’s return to the role, having previously warned the actor not to renege on the gut-wrenching finale of Logan. “I said, ‘Let me give you a piece of advice, Hugh. Don’t come back’,” Feige recalls. “‘You had the greatest ending in history with Logan. That’s not something we should undo.’” But it seems this won’t be the exact same Logan we’ve met in previous X-Men movies (“Correct,” says Feige), and after a long drive, Jackman decided that another take on the character was exactly what he hankered for. “I was about an hour into the drive,” he remembers. “And that question came into my head: ‘What do I want to do?’ And as soon as I asked the question, I wanted to do Deadpool & Wolverine. I just knew it. I drove for another hour. Couldn’t stop thinking about it. And I got out of the car, called Ryan, and said, ‘Ryan, if you’ll have me, I’m in.’” Get ready to go berserker.
Read Empire’s full Deadpool & Wolverine cover feature – speaking to Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, director Shawn Levy, Marvel boss Kevin Feige and more – in the Summer 2024 issue, on sale Thursday 9 May. Pre-order a copy online here. Deadpool & Wolverine comes to UK cinemas from 25 July.