In the minds of comic book movie fans, Hugh Jackman is Wolverine. For the last fifteen years, Jackman has fully inhabited the role of James “Logan†Howlett, a.k.a. Wolverine, since the very first live-action X-Men movie. But after the third Wolverine film in 2017, Jackman will step aside from the character that made him a star.
Jackman’s departure does beg the following question: who could possibly replace him as Wolverine? During an interview for his upcoming movie Pan, Jackman admitted that he hadn’t “really given it a lot of thought.” Jackman also joked that he didn’t want to make it too easy for Fox to replace him, before naming Tom Hardy as his pick. Jackman also noted that he thinks that Hardy would be great in the role.
Hardy does have experience in the comic book movie realm, as he played Bane in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises and he was briefly cast in the Suicide Squad movie before dropping out. Hardy has the right physique for the role, and he’s already proven this year that he can headline a film with his turns in Legend and Mad Max: Fury Road. Hardy could potentially be a very good choice to play Wolverine…assuming that he wants the role.
Jackman’s continuous stint as Wolverine is unique in Hollywood. Roger Moore played James Bond for 12 years, well short of Jackman’s 17-year tenure as Wolverine. Assuming that Robert Downey Jr. plays out the length of his Marvel Studios contract in 2019’s Avengers: Infinity War Part 2, he’ll have portrayed Tony Stark/Iron Man for only 11 years. No one else in superhero movies even comes close to Jackman’s record. And don’t bring up the original Star Wars cast as contenders to Jackman’s achievement. A 32-year hiatus between films isn’t exactly a continuous run. As for Harison Ford’s Indiana Jones, he does come in at 27 years in the title role, but that also includes a 19-year hiatus between the third and fouth movies.
Nerdist readers, who would you cast as the new Wolverine once Jackman steps aside? Pop the claws and share your picks in the comment section below!
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HT: MTV News
Image Credit: Marvel/20th Century Fox
