For a while now, film lovers and comic fanatics have been well aware that Hugh Jackman is preparing to hang it up as Wolverine. Jackman is slated to appear in next summer’s “X-Men: Apocalypse” and is expected to start filming soon on what’s tentatively being called “Wolverine 3,” which is to be his last effort in the character’s solo franchise. At this point, Jackman’s departure has sunk in and is no longer a surprise. What is a surprise is the fact that potential replacements are already being discussed as if it’s a sure thing that a Wolverine franchise will continue in some form.
But is this really necessary? Thinking back on the continuity and range of success of Wolverine on screen, it’s difficult to say.
Many may not have really thought about it, but Jackman is actually the longest tenured superhero actor among all the modern comic adaptations. Does it seem like Robert Downey, Jr. has been Iron Man for your entire life? Well, he only actually started in 2008. Feel like Tobey Maguire was Spider-Man for an eternity? He only donned the suit from 2002-2007. By comparison: Hugh Jackman has been doing this for 15 years! “X-Men” came out back in 2000, and while technically that means folks like Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart have been in the game just as long, Jackman is the only actor to have appeared in all the X-Men films—a streak that will continue with “X-Men: Apocalypse.”
Expanding on the pure continuity of Jackman and the Wolverine character in general, we’ve also seen our favourite clawed mutant in as many video games as any other superhero character (if not more) since 2000. The character has appeared in old arcade fighters, the renowned Marvel vs. Capcom series, the excellent “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” video game adaptation, and more recently a slew of modern games featuring whole casts of Marvel characters. There’s actually a collection of slot machine games featuring art and licenses from Marvel characters that includes a Wolverine game. That game’s description takes the liberty of declaring Wolverine to be X-Men fans’ favourite hero, and who are we to argue? In gaming alone, the character just won’t go away and has long been a popular draw.
I could go on, but the point is that Wolverine, and in many cases Jackman himself, have been absolutely everywhere superhero themes are welcome for 15 years. And this could influence you to think either way regarding the continuity of the cinematic character by a new actor. On the one hand, it’s hard to imagine a superhero film genre in which there’s no Wolverine. On the other, it’s nearly impossible at this point to picture anyone else keeping it going in Jackman’s absence!
Nearly impossible. But now, thanks to Jackman himself, we’ve all been forced to picture someone else embodying Wolverine, and it’s kind of difficult not to see the fit, at least to some extent. Interested in the idea of the character continuing on once he sheathes his claws for good, Jackman has tabbed Tom Hardy as his own choices for a potential replacement. That doesn’t necessarily mean Hardy will be considered, but at this point it’s difficult to imagine Jackman not having some sway with the 20th Century Fox folks working on the X-Men franchise.
So is Hardy a good fit? He’s probably the closest thing to Jackman in terms of being a pure, manly, wild man in Hollywood. Hardy proved in his “The Dark Knight Rises” role as Bane that he can get good and jacked, and his part in “The Revenant,” coming out later this year, looks appropriately savage to showcase some shades of Logan/Wolverine. Hardy has also demonstrated interest in the superhero genre, not only in playing Bane, but through persistent rumours that he’d be involved in “Suicide Squad” (he won’t be). Perhaps more important than any of that, he’s a spectacular actor who excels as the strong silent type but has enough range to inject some personality into these roles.
All things considered, Hardy may well be the ideal pick if Wolverine does continue on screen. But Jackman has held the role for so long, and done such a memorable job of it, one has to wonder if it’s best left alone for a few years.
