Wolverine is at the end of the line.
Not only is Marvel’s most popular mutant biting the bullet (or perhaps biting a sword, or a nuke, or a Sabretooth; either way, dude’s about to die) in the comics, but now it appears that his big-screen future is in question as well.
Hugh Jackman, the Oscar-nominated man behind the claws across seven different films, says that he’s near the end of his rope as far as playing Wolverine goes. He’ll next be seen in “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” and after that, it’s believed Jackman will reprise the role for another solo movie with James Mangold, director of the Japan-set “The Wolverine.” But even that project isn’t a certainty.
“I’m excited to see what we can come up with, but I haven’t signed on signed on,” the actor told SFX Magazine. “I’m genuinely at that point where unless it’s better than the last one I’m not going to do it.”
That’s right: Jackman is ready to put the claws behind him for good, unless there’s a worthy reason to follow “The Wolverine.” He’s optimistic that there is at least one more story to tell, and that there’s room for improving on his most recent solo outing as Wolverine.
“I can still see where we can improve on the last one,” he said. “I don’t want to get into specifics, because it just upsets people, but there are certain parts of that story where I felt we were predictable. And I don’t think you need to do that with Wolverine.”
Which is Jackman’s nice guy code for, “That Silver Samurai stuff was garbage.” But he’s proud of the film’s smaller beats, as he very much should be.
“What’s exciting is that you can make it a more interior story, and people actually prefer that,” he said. “And that was good to show and convince everyone – especially everyone who greenlights the movies.”
Jackman, if you ask me, you’re on the right path. Avoid the obvious superhero nonsense, tell the grounded Wolverine story you’ve always wanted to tell, then drop the mic — or the claws, as it were. After seven movies, you’ve earned one last hurrah on your own terms.
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