Fans knew long before 20th Century Fox’sLoganhit theaters this spring that it would be Hugh Jackman’s finalWolverineperformance, closing out his17-year run as Wolverine. While it isn’t clear when exactly it will happen, it seems inevitable that, at some point, 20th Century Fox will reboot the franchise with a younger actor as Logan, and while most fans may not be ready for that yet, Hugh Jackman has already come to terms with another actor portraying his iconic character. As it turns out, it was some advice given to him during production of the very firstX-Menmovie that has prepared him to say goodbye to this character.
What some fans may not know is that, we were almost quite close to having a much different Wolverine. British actor Dougray Scott was originally cast as Logan/Wolverine in the original 2000 filmX-Men, but he was forced to drop out when production went long on Paramount’sMission: Impossible II, where he was playing the main villain. This lead to Hugh Jackman, then a relatively-unknown Australian stage actor, landing the role of a lifetime that launched his extraordinary career. When asked about the prospect of Logan being recast, the actor said that he actually hopes the character will be recast, while sharing the story of how he met Dougray Scott after he had taken theWolverine role.
“I met him early on and I said to him, ‘Man, I am sorry.’ And he said, ‘It’s just business, but you have just gotten one of the greatest roles out there, so go crush it.’ I just remember being so impressed by that and his class, and hopefully I am a big enough guy that when someone else takes over, I will do exactly what was done to me and I feel glad to just be a part of the legacy of that character. I feel great parts, great characters out live the actors that play them. Bond, Superman, Batman… so, there you go.”
Given the state of theX-Men franchiseas it stands right now, it would actually be quite easy to recast Wolverine, from a logistical standpoint.Loganis set in the year 2029, five years beyond theX-Men: Days of Future Pastprologue, the furthest point ever seen in theX-Menfranchise to that point. SinceX-Men: Days of Future Pastwiped out the continuity established in theoriginal X-Mentrilogy, and the new movieX-Men: The Dark Phoenixis set in the 1990s, it’s possible that movie could introduce a younger Logan, or its sequel, which would presumably be set in the 2000s, since the prequel trilogy (X-Men: First Class,X-Men: Days of Future PastandX-Men: Apocalypse) has been set roughly a decade apart from each sequel.
The studio is expanding itsX-Menfranchise even further withThe New Mutantshitting theaters June 20, 2025, followed byDeadpool 2on June 21, 2025 andX-Men: The Dark Phoenixon July 12, 2025. The studio is also developing anX-Force movieon top of all that, so the future of theX-Menfranchise is certainly in good hands. As for when we may see a different actor playing Wolverine, that remains uncertain, but you can visitThe Hollywood Reporterfor their interview with Hugh Jackman, director James Mangold and producer Hutch Parker, where they also tease an upcoming X-23 spin-off.
