Although the X-MEN franchise has had its fair share of critics over the last decade, few audience members would question the iconic status of its primary leading man. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is arguably the most popular and recognizable face of the entire superhero genre (with the possible exception of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man). The Australian star has been a key aspect of the genre’s rise in popularity, and has even helped pave the way for the multitude of superhero outings we have now.
After portraying the adamantium-laced mutant for fifteen years, seven films and over $3Bn worth of box-office glory, many fans have been wondering when Jackman would finally be handing his claws in. It seems we may now have the answer, thanks to an Instagram post from the man himself:
This strangely sudden piece of news was certainly a confusing message for fans of the lucrative Fox franchise, with many questioning which film Jackman was referring to as his last appearence as Wolverine. Thankfully, James Mangold quickly cleared all smoke by confirming that he was indeed referencing the upcoming sequel to THE WOLVERINE, currently set for release in March 2017. Of course, with recent rumours pointing to a cameo appearence in Bryan Singer’s X-MEN: APOCALYPSE, one has to wonder whether Jackman simply wasn’t including short or minor roles in other X-MEN films.
With Jackman’s tenure as the rage-fuelled warrior stretching further back than Tobey Maguire’s stint as Spider-Man in the early 2000’s, it’s an undoubtable fact that the talented star will be extremely hard to replace. With Fox lining up new versions of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Nightcrawler Gambit and Deadpool in the near future, it seems they’re preparing for the next phase of their X-MEN franchise after Jackman’s inevitable departure.
Pingback: The Future of the X-Men Film Franchise After Apocalypse & Wolverine 3 | We Minored In Film