Last month, news that Ryan Reynolds shot a Deadpool scene for 2017's upcoming Wolverine solo movie Logan caused quite a stir. The film, due to hit cinemas in March, is Hugh Jackman's final appearance as the surly Canadian mutant, and is heavily influenced by the comic series Old Man Logan (from Mark Millar and Steve McNiven). Fans were thrilled to hear that the Merc with a Mouth might join Logan in the film (in a post-credits scene), bringing together two fan-favorite X-Men universe characters in a single, epic, R-rated moment. Sadly, however, the rumors were quickly dismissed by director James Mangold as well as by Reynolds himself.
However, these rumors have kicked up a lot of speculation about the possibility of seeing Deadpool and Wolverine together in the future, with Reynolds continuing to express enthusiasm for a team-up. Now, Hugh Jackman has weighed in on the topic, and he's a little more hesitant about the idea.
In an interview with Reynolds, Variety includes a snippet from the Wolverine actor on why he isn't quite as keen as the Deadpool star to work on a joint project, and it comes down to timing.
"I’m hesitating because I could totally see how that’s the perfect fit. But the timing may be wrong."
In the same article, Reynolds does say that he would still like to change Jackman's mind, and that he is hoping a vocal audience might be able to convince the actor to pop the claws one more time. Having successfully leveraged fan opinion to get his vision for Deadpool made, Reynolds certainly knows that audiences hold a lot of sway, and is happy to use that to his advantage. "It’s the audience: I would exclusively exploit that relationship to get Hugh back for another one."
With everything set up to see Jackman leave the X-Men franchise this year, it's easy to see why he would be hesitant to return alongside Reynolds in a new film. However, if timing is the only issue, it's not an insurmountable one. It's encouraging to hear that Jackman thinks that a team up could be "the perfect fit," and with both Deadpool and Logan pushing the boundaries of comic book violence, a joint venture could be absolutely incredible. We also do not yet know exactly where Logan will fit within the convoluted timeline of the franchise -- it could easily be an alternate future (or simply a distant one), which would allow for a younger version of Wolverine to return alongside Deadpool in an upcoming movie.
However, Jackman may not want to re-join the franchise at all, even for a movie like this one. After nearly twenty years in the role, it's understandable that he may wish to move on to other projects. His age is also increasingly problematic, as Wolverine ages at a fraction of the speed that a human would -- while Jackman still looks incredible, it's physically impossible for him to remain ageless on screen (without expensive CGI). Logan is the perfect story for Jackman to bid farewell to the franchise, and returning for an R-rated team-up with Deadpool simply wouldn't have the same impact as a final film.
For now, we can look forward to Logan and to Deadpool 2, and wait and see if Ryan Reynolds is able to convince his fellow mutant to stick around just a little bit longer.
Source: Variety
