Hugh Jackman has wrapped up his ninth and final turn as Wolverine with Logan, in what perhaps marks his best performance as the beloved mutant to date. The film marks the end of a 17-year run for Wolverine after Jackman's star-making debut as the character in X-Men in 2000, and in the interim he's been through highs (X-Men: Days of Future Past) and lows (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) with the character. Reactions to previous films notwithstanding, Jackman had a lot riding on Logan because ultimately it was about the character's legacy – and the enthusiastic critical response and booming box office have left him with a lot to be smiling about.
Thankfully for the Wolverine faithful, Jackman is continuing to celebrate the success of Logan through various social media posts as the film enters its third week in theaters. In his latest tweet, Jackman takes the opportunity to look back at the character, even though he's not looking very far. It's a behind the scenes photo of him shot during the making of Logan, which is accompanied by the quip, "I guess wrapped film stills are acceptable for #ThrowbackThursday. And, if not, I just made it so." Basically, it's Jackman's way of saying he tweets photos from Logan outside the traditional qualifications of a #ThrowbackThursday photo, because he can – and fans love him for it.
You can check out the image below:
It has to feel good for any actor or filmmaker to be riding a successful film that's also adored by critics, so maybe that's why we're seeing so much social media interaction with Jackman. He's never been shy about his love for the character, so with any luck, we'll see more behind-the-scenes shots of his work on Logan in the coming weeks. Another thing that has to be fueling Jackman's enthusiasm is the new hope he and and co-writer/director James Mangold found for the X-Men franchise in Dafne Keen, a pre-teen wonder whose ferocious big-screen debut as Laura Kinney/X-23 left fans and critics stunned. With one amazing performance from Keen, the future suddenly feels secure in another set of adamantium-clawed hands.
Despite the apparent passing of the torch in the X-Men movie universe, it will be interesting to see once the final box office tally is counted whether somebody at Fox will attempt to lure Jackman to the franchise with a lucrative offer – no matter the finality of the narrative in Logan. At this point, the best fans can hope for is a Wolverine cameo, pre-2029, in Deadpool 2, instead of Ryan Reynolds staple-gunning a magazine cover photo of Jackman to his forehead for a second time. Whatever the case may be, let's hope Jackman keeps opening his social media picture book for the world to see.
