20th Century Fox chairman and CEO Stacey Snider reveals the studio would be open to rebooting the Wolverine character with a new actor at some point down the line. Earlier this year, fans bid a tearful and emotional farewell to Hugh Jackman's take on the popular mutant when Logan became a critical and commercial success. The Oscar-nominee had portrayed Wolverine in nine films over the course of 17 years, becoming one of the most integral figures in the history of comic book movies. Billed as "one last time" from the beginning, Logan concluded with the death of Wolverine, ending an era in a touching manner.

In the months since Logan's release, the topic of recasting the role has popped up a few times. While Fox producer Hutch Parker is leery about going in that direction, Jackman seems well aware one day another actor will don the claws. To him, the part is similar to James Bond and Batman, two characters that have been portrayed by multiple thespians on the big screen. As it turns out, Fox's head honcho Snider is in agreement with the former X-Men star, and is leaving the door open to a Wolverine reboot.

During an interview with Variety, Snider was asked about bringing in a different actor to play Wolverine now that Jackman has retired from the franchise. All she said in response was, "Anything's possible." While this is hardly confirmation a new Logan is coming through the pipeline, the executive did not slam the door shut on the possibility, so she is at the very least keeping the option on the table for the time being.

Hugh Jackman in Logan

Wolverine is undoubtedly one of the most bankable individuals in X-Men lore, so it isn't surprising the studio would be interested in bringing him back at some point. However, there is clearly no rush to do a recast. Thanks to the record-breaking success of Deadpool, the Merc With a Mouth has become Fox's new poster boy with a sequel and team-up film (X-Force) on the horizon. Additionally, Fox is continuing the mainline X-Men film series with Dark Phoenix and hopes to launch another series when New Mutants debuts next year, so they aren't hurting for content. Rebooting Wolverine so soon after Logan would also run the risk of sapping the impact of that film's heart-wrenching conclusion, which was as great a sendoff as one could have asked for.

During Jackman's tenure as Wolverine, the X-Men films were criticized in some circles for leaning too heavily on the character as a crutch, as he was frequently thrust into a starring role (even in ensemble pieces). As such, it might be better creatively for the franchise if they focus on the plethora of other mutants from the source material for now, giving others a shot at the limelight. After being explored in a variety of ways for nearly two decades, there doesn't appear to be much else filmmakers can do with Wolverine onscreen, so they'd be wise to let him rest in peace and move on. If the urge for berserker rages proves too great, Fox can always revisit Dafne Keen's X-23, who stole the show in Logan.

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Source: Variety

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