In 2015, Hugh Jackman made a splash at Comic-Con when he confirmed his time as Wolverine would end with the character's next movie (James Mangold's Logan, which was released in theaters two years later).
That ended the clawed mutant's story in a definitive fashion, making it all the more surprising that Jackman will reprise the role in Deadpool & Wolverine. The actor understandably couldn't pass on the chance to join the MCU, but a certain Merc with the Mouth also helped change his mind.
Talking to the New York Times, Jackman looked back at the series of events which led to him starring in Logan and deciding then was the right time to hang up his claws.
"'X-Men' was also my first film in America. I was very much at the mercy of everyone else: 'OK, we’re doing a sequel, great. Oh, you’ve written a script? Let’s have a look.' I think it crystallized by the time I got to 'Logan,' where I was very much involved. You know, I had a two-picture deal [for the first two 'Wolverine' spinoffs], so I had really no choice for the first two."
"This was how naïve I was: They offered a three-picture deal, and my agent rang me and said, 'I’ve got them down to a two-picture deal.' I said, 'What? Why did you do that?' And he laughed. He goes, 'You’ll work it out eventually.'"
"'Three movies, that’s three jobs!' But from that moment on, I had a choice whether to do it or not. So for me, it was always about is there a reason to tell this story? By 'Logan,' that’s why I said, 'I’m out, I think I’ve reached the end of what I have to offer.' And then it was seeing the first 'Deadpool' in a screening room that had me going, 'Oh, hang on. There’s another reason.'"
Also helping matters was Jackman's history with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. They met when the executive was an associate producer on the first X-Men movie, and the Deadpool & Wolverine star credits him with keeping him in the loop with Logan's comic book exploits.
"I was flying up to do a [screen] test with the director, and it was lunch hour. The director was like, 'I don’t understand what’s going on, I’ve got Dougray Scott playing the part. Why am I auditioning another guy?' I’ve never known more that I’m not getting a part. Anyway, as I left, Kevin came up and said, 'Hey man, I’ll drive you to the airport.'"
"I said, 'Kev, you don’t have to. I’ll just get a cab.' And he goes, 'No, no. I’ve made us a reservation, we’ll get a steak before you get on the plane.' I said, 'Kev, please. We’re all grown-ups here. We all know what’s going on and you don’t have to do that.' But he did, and he took me out for a steak dinner.
"He was just being a really good guy. We sat and chatted, and then he literally dropped me off at the airport. So we did bond on that film, big time, when I got the part. He was slipping me some comic books under the radar because the director [Bryan Singer] didn’t want them on set. I think he was worried about people reading the comic, that people would think they were two-dimensional. So we became close and I was so, so happy for [Feige] as his star rocketed."
Feige smuggling comic books to the 2000 blockbuster's cast makes all the sense in the world...as does filmmaker Bryan Singer banning them. After all, as good as his X-Men movies were, they weren't exactly comic-accurate!
Bonding with Feige must have played a big role in convincing Jackman that now was the right time to suit up as Wolverine again and, if what we've seen from Deadpool & Wolverine is any indication, neither their nor the actor's team-up with Ryan Reynolds will disappoint.
Deadpool & Wolverine arrives in theaters on July 26.