At this point, it’s really hard to imagine anyone else playing Wolverine but Hugh Jackman. After all, no matter how crummy some of the X-Men films got over the years (and there were some really, really awful ones, thanks to Gavin Hood and Brett Ratner), he never let us down. Not once. He brought his all with him on every occasion and made sure that Logan remained the best part of each of the movies.
Still, after nine films in the space of 17 years, Jackman is now ready to pass down the adamantium claws. Who will replace him is obviously unknown, and that’s not likely to change for a while, but in an interesting interview with THR, the actor shared a story about the time he met the man who was originally supposed to play Wolverine.
You see, Jackman wasn’t always the first choice for the X-Men leader. Initially, Dougray Scott was Fox’s pick, but seeing as he was still caught up in the prolonged production of Mission: Impossible 2 at the time, Jackman took his spot. Being the awesome guy that he is, though, the Aussie actor offered up an apology to Scott.
“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.”
Though Jackman says that “great characters out live the actors that play them,” it’s still going to be mighty difficult watching someone else step into the role of Wolverine. Simply put, replacing him will feel like the ultimate betrayal. It would be like cheating on Gal Gadot with Sean Spicer, and then having to look her in the eye again. When they say time heals all wounds, we wonder if it’ll heal the heartache of knowing that Hugh isn’t the Ol’ Canucklehead anymore. Right now, we don’t think we’ll ever get over it.
Still, there’s nothing to worry about just yet as we really don’t know what Fox plans to do with the character. Besides, the next few years certainly look bright for the X-Men Universe. We’ve got New Mutants, Deadpool 2 and X-Men: Dark Phoenix to look forward to, not to mention any other unannounced projects that are still brewing in development. Big things are in store for the franchise, make no mistake about it, but no matter which new and exciting directions the studio heads in from here, I think we can all say that Jackman‘s absence will most definitely be felt.