When Hugh Jackman starred in 2017’s Logan, he'd intended for the film to be his final turn as Wolverine. It was an emotional and exciting send-off for the X-Men actor, who'd been playing the adamantium-clawed hero for 20 years at that point. But thanks to his friendship with Ryan Reynolds, that ultimately didn't prove to be the end. It was shockingly announced a couple months back that Hugh Jackman is returning to the role once more for Deadpool 3. Many people have probably been wondering what the heck changed and, to that end, Jackman is explaining his decision.
Ahead of Hugh Jackman reprising his comic book character in the upcoming Marvel movie, the Australian actor shared that his decision to return was spurred by a screening of a certain superhero movie. In his words:
Well, I was 20 minutes into watching Deadpool and I had just announced, literally, a few weeks before that Logan was going to be my last, which I fully intended. And then I was like, ‘Uh-oh.’ And here’s maybe a bit of a hangover from [The Son filmmaker Florian Zeller]. I was just driving out to the beach. It was mid-August, I had a week off from the show [The Music Man on Broadway], my first week off in eight, nine months, 10 months. And it came to me like, ‘I really want to do that.’ And that was it.
While speaking to Deadline about his latest film, The Son, Jackman explained that Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool is what made him begin to realize that he didn’t want to leave the Marvel sphere just yet. And then while he was on vacation after completing his work on the recently released drama film and during a hiatus form being on Broadway for The Music Man last year, he decided to reach out to Reynolds. However, it sounds like he didn't make things so easy for the Wade Wilson actor:
As soon as I arrived at the beach, I rang Ryan [Reynolds] just to see what the hell was going on. And then here we are. It was so quick. And trust me, there’s not a morning I don’t wake up where Ryan Reynolds is outside my house with posters saying, ‘Please.’ He’s constantly asking me about it. And I was like, ‘Dude, I’m done. I’m done, I’m done, I’m done, I’m done, I’m done.’ So then when he rang me [back], he was like, ‘Are you serious?’ So yeah. I’m a terrible poker player. All this time I was saying I was done, I really meant it. But anyway, somewhere deep down, this idea was obviously lurking and brewing.
Hugh Jackman changed his mind after he rejected the idea multiple times, it seems. Now that the secret is out and we know Wolverine is returning for the threequel, there are certainly a ton of questions regarding how Logan comes back. One plausible theory is that since the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in the middle of the Multiverse Saga, another version of Wolverine (or "variant") could be in the mix, rather than the same exact character who appeared in the X-Men movies and heroically met his demise in Logan.
Of course, there are a few other quick things we know about Deadpool 3. For instance, it'll be directed by Shawn Levy, who worked with Ryan Reynolds on Free Guy and The Adam Project. It will also reportedly be R-rated, despite the fact that the Merc with a Mouth is now part of the (mostly kid-friendly) MCU. Reynolds has begun training for the production as well ahead of filming.
Right now, Hugh Jackman is still starring in The Music Man until January 15, and Ryan Reynolds is reportedly filming John Krasinski’s family movie, Imaginary Friends. We can expect Deadpool 3 to begin filming sometime in 2023 in anticipation of its November 8, 2024 release date. Until then, let's just breathe a sigh of relief that Reynolds' superhero franchise inspired Jackman to return to his signature role.
