Hugh Jackman has been retired from playing Canadian superhero Logan/Wolverine for a minute, but he will be returning to the role—and reuniting with Ryan Reynolds—in Deadpool 3. While Jackman’s return has raised a few eyebrows, the Broadway star says it was important for him to protect the continuity established in Logan.
During a recent interview with SiriusXM, Jackman explained that his return was contingent on not contradicting the story that was told in Logan, which killed off Wolverine. It was hugely well-received after two pretty major standalone duds (sorry X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine fans—although the latter was a major improvement).
“It’s all because of this device they have in the Marvel world of moving around timelines,” Jackman said. “Now we can go back because, you know, it’s science. So, I don’t have to screw with the Logan timeline, which was important to me. And I think probably to the fans too.”
Once again, the multiverse for the win. Ryan Reynolds said the same thing in September about Logan being a “separate thing,” and since Logan takes place canonically in 2029, it naturally gives us some wiggle room, as well.
Reynolds and Jackman first appeared together as Deadpool and Wolverine back in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Although they cast the perfect actor for the mouthy Deadpool, they rendered him unable to speak during the film’s big climax. It’s become a joke now, but Reynolds put in the work for years to return his character to the big screen and do it well. He succeeded: Deadpool is one of the most successful R-rated comic book movies of all time.
Since Disney’s acquisition of Fox, some fans were worried how it might impact Deadpool 3, though announcing Jackman’s cameo did get fans excited. Now, if they could just bring in Wesley Snipes as Blade for another crossover/reunion, that would be awesome (or even tease Mahershala Ali’s Blade with a shout-out to the OG). All of Reynolds’ comic book exes return!
We have to wait until 2024 to see how it plays out, but as someone interested in Marvel’s long game, I see Deadpool 3 (and the studio’s handling of it) as a major way to gauge the longevity of this genre—not only because I love comic book movies, but because the franchise has started to feel stale. Deadpool being Marvel’s first R-rated product might prove they can still evolve. Here’s hoping, anyway.
(via Yahoo News, featured image: 20th Century Fox)
