Hugh Jackman Got Logan Director James Mangold's Blessing To Bring Back Wolverine For Deadpool 3

A lot of Deadpool fans were excited by the announcement last September that Hugh Jackman would be taking up his role again as Wolverine in "Deadpool 3." Jackman and Reynolds seem to get along great together, after all, and the two characters seem like they'd be natural comedic foils. It's easy to picture Logan as the straight man reacting with annoyance to Deadpool's constant fourth-wall-breaking shenanigans.

But for fans of the 2017 film, "Logan," which served as a final farewell to Wolverine, the announcement wasn't necessarily cause for celebration. Instead, it seemed like an undermining of the emotional stakes of what most agree to be Wolverine's best live-action movie. Considering how little death seems to matter in superhero comics and movies, it felt refreshing at the time for Wolverine's tenure to finally come to a definitive, emotionally resonant end. Isn't this a little insulting to poor James Mangold, the director of "Logan," to have Wolverine just pop back onto the big screen like it's nothing?

Turns out, Mangold's fine with the whole thing. "He was actually really cool about it," Hugh Jackman told Empire, as he explained how Mangold actually gave him his blessing before he accepted the role. "I did tell him it takes place before our movie, so I wasn't going to screw it up with my claws coming out of the grave. He was relieved by that."

Hugh Jackman deciding to play Wolverine one more time was something that the actor didn't think he'd do. "For five years, I was really honest when I said, 'I'm never playing that part again, I promise you,'" he explained to Empire. Apparently, he'd rejected several pleas from Ryan Reynolds for him to return before he finally agreed. "It was August 14, [2022]," he recalled. "I remember driving and it just came to me like that. I just thought this would be so much fun."

It's easy to see the appeal, especially considering Jackman has always played Wolverine in a fairly serious context. While those "X-Men" films of his weren't exactly humorless, the writers and actors did take them seriously most of the time. The closest thing to a meta-joke was the throwaway line about yellow spandex in the first film, which really only served to showcase just how grounded the movie was trying to be. Getting to play Wolverine in a movie where the rules are far more flexible, where the characters get to be a little more aware of their fictional status, has got to be a breath of fresh air. 

And although the script for "Deadpool 3" isn't finished yet, Jackman also told Empire that he was very on board with the general plan for Wolverine and Deadpool's dynamic:

"They hate each other. [Logan] is annoyed by him. Frustrated by him. Wants to be a million miles away from him. Unfortunately, he can't be a million miles away from him in this movie. He's the fast-talking, quick-witted loudmouth and my character just wants to punch him in the head."

"Deadpool 3" is currently scheduled to make its way into theaters on November 8, 2024.