When Hugh Jackman bid farewell to Wolverine in 2017's Logan, it was unclear what 20th Century Fox had planned for the clawed mutant moving forward.
Had the Disney/Fox merger not happened (and assuming Dark Phoenix didn't bomb), the next X-Men movie would have likely shifted focus to the 2000s. Given Wolverine's popularity, we'd imagine the idea was to recast the role if not there, then definitely somewhere down the line.
Fortunately, Marvel Studios and Ryan Reynolds managed to convince Jackman to reprise the role for Deadpool & Wolverine. In an interview with People, the actor explained why he walked away from Logan in the first place.
"I had got to the point probably 10 years ago I was like, I'm not enjoying it. It was hurting. It was tough," Jackman admits. "But I've had a break, and I've been doing a lot of dance. I've been doing stage shows. And so when I came back to it, it was really fun."
Confirming he's not missed a step, Reynolds chimed in to add, "When Hugh Jackman is coming at you at 150 Australian miles per hour, you feel like there's no way you're not going to be dead in four seconds. And I will never forget that. And thank God I'm in a mask, because under the mask my face is going, 'Oh God!'"
Elsewhere in the profile, the Wade Wilson actor looked back on his first meeting with Jackman on the set of 2008's X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
"I was blown away. And I was nervous as hell," Reynolds recalls. "I was walking through the trailers, jet-lagged, disoriented, feeling really green and kind of out of my depth, and there was no script to look at. It was just like, what's going to happen?"
"And I heard my name, 'Ryan!' in between these trailers as I was walking. And it was [Hugh]. Just the fact that you knew my name meant so much to me. And you came over, you gave me a big hug and you said, 'Welcome aboard.'"
You can hear more from both Reynolds and Jackman, including the "secret sauce" to the friendship, in the player below.
Shawn Levy directs Deadpool & Wolverine, which stars Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen. The movie is written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy.
The trades have confirmed that Jennifer Garner will reprise her role as Elektra, with Wesley Snipes, James Marsden, Famke Janssen, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Dafne Keen, Channing Tatum, Blake Lively and, as we mentioned above, even singer Taylor Swift among those rumoured to make an appearance.
Kevin Feige, Reynolds, Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner produce with Louis D’Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, George Dewey, Simon Kinberg and Jonathon Komack Martin serving as executive producers.
Deadpool & Wolverine arrives in theaters on July 26.