The most recent look at Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine seemed to pretty clearly indicate that Hugh Jackman‘s Logan is a Variant that had not yet been seen in any of the Fox X-Men films. The new trailer had plenty enough dialogue and context clues to deduce that Jackman was not resuming the role so much as reinventing it through an all-new, all-different Variant but the internet, of course, remained skeptical. Thankfully, Marvel Studios’ One-Above-All, Kevin Feige, has put that skepticism to bed.
In an interview with Empire, Feige revealed that he was initially opposed to Jackman’s return to the role but came around to the notion once it was settled that he would not be playing a version of the character he had played before.
Recalling a conversation he had with Jackman, Feige told Empire, “I said, ‘Let me give you a piece of advice, Hugh. Don’t come back. You had the greatest ending in history with Logan. That’s not something we should undo.’” And so the studio found a way to avoid undoing it by using the concept of the Multiverse to create a new version of the character (When asked by Empire to clarify if Jackman was playing version of the character that fans had not met before, Feige simply said “Correct.”), something Jackman himself wasn’t quite sure of himself until he went for a drive.
“I was about an hour into the drive,” recalled Jackman. “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.’”
Whatever skepticism either Feige or Jackman had has certainly been assuaged by the reception to the two trailers for the film. Deadpool & Wolverine looks like it’s exactly what Marvel Studios needs to reestablish itself at the box office. The film hits theaters in the U.S. on July 26th.
Source: Empire
