After Wolverine, Hugh Jackman could play another superhero role
Hugh Jackman is best known for portraying Wolverine in the X-Men movies. Having played the role for 17 years, fans had begun to associate the actor with the character of Logan or Wolverine. However, Jackman walked away from the role after the heart wrenching but satisfactory conclusion in Logan. It appears now, that the 50-year-old Australian is open to playing other superhero roles.
Jackman, in an interview, said that he would be open to doing other superhero roles, and spoke about his role as Wolverine. He said that even without knowing much about the X-Men comic series, he realized that the characters were amazing but flawed. Jackman tried to portray that in his roles, where characters with superpowers were flawed, thus making them easier to relate to.
Jackman said, "All of these people are flawed characters. Sure they have extraordinary abilities, right, but they are all really flawed, and that's what the movie's about. That's why people relate to it".
Jackman's views align with the time when superhero movies were hesitant to embrace comic origins, sticking to realism. However, with superhero genres dominating Hollywood now, Jackman seems excited to be a part of it. While he understood the issues of marginalization X-Men tried to portray, he realized how the wish fulfillment, like having claws, drove Wolverine and other comic characters to succeed.
Jackman said, "There's a wish fulfillment of 'I wish I had claws' but ultimately... what it's like to be marginalized...If only I had the bloody claws, so I see why they're being so successful...it certainly exceeded every expectation. They are getting better, better, and better".
Jackman, having expressed his willingness to play a superhero could mean him joining Ryan Reynolds and Chris Evans in playing two different superheroes. Reynolds was DC's Green Lantern before Marvel's Deadpool, Evans was Fox's Human Torch of the Fantastic Four, before Captain America. Although Jackman could cherry pick roles in DC's developing universe, we hope he shares screen time with another Wolverine within Marvel.
If Jackman's interest in superheroes had fans hoping for a Wolverine, Deadpool crossover, prepare for disappointment. He asserted, despite Ryan's relentlessness he would not play Wolverine again, because of the physical toll the preparation for the role took on the aging actor. Further, he insisted the world did not really want to see a collaboration, perhaps just a Deadpool cameo in a Wolverine film.
Despite his interest to rejoin the superhero genre, Jackman has a project already lined up. He is part of Jason Reitman's biographical drama called The Front Runner, where he plays Gary Hart. Hart was a US senator and potential Democratic presidential candidate in 1988 before his fall from grace as media reports of his extramarital affair surfaced. Jackman co-stars with Vera Farmiga, JK Simmons.
