Logan: Hugh Jackman Emphasizes That This Really is The End

For the Logan press junket in New York, Twentieth Century Fox wanted to do something a little different to celebrate the end of Hugh Jackman’s tenure as The Wolverine. They helped us run a contest to identify and bring a “super fan” to New York and watch the movie weeks before release and then meet Logan himself.

That champion was Sean Harrigan, who runs his own movie blog Cinescape and co-hosts a live radio show/podcast, and he was able to meet and greet Jackman and then interview him for us on camera. And he nailed it!

Sean and Hugh’s conversation involved a few laughs, wishful thinking of an X-Men/Avengers crossover, the importance of Logan to the actor personally, and emphasis that this really is it. Jackman is done with playing The Wolverine.

Alright Hugh, this is the biggest question you’re going to get all day: Kate and Leopold 2, when is it happening?

Hugh Jackman: [laughter] That’s the one my wife wants me to do. Yeah totally. Same director.

Logan marks the ninth time in 17 years you are portraying Logan and Wolverine, when you first signed on with Fox…

Hugh Jackman: That’s a lot of chicken breast, I’ll tell you…

…did you think you’d be here, at this point, 17 years later still playing this character?

Hugh Jackman: I had no idea. Literally no idea. I was so naïve, mate, that when my agent rang me doing the deal for – and by the way, you have to do the deal before you audition, because they don’t want actors getting the part and then thinking, “Oh now I’m going to negotiate.” So you do the deal first, and he rang me and said, “Hey mate. Good news. I negotiated you down from a three picture deal to a two picture deal.” I said, “You did what? They were going to offer me three jobs? That’s three jobs dude! Why are you…why?” He goes, “You’ll work it out.” I was very naïve. I had no idea. Comic book movies back then were really non-existent.

Yeah, X-Men and Blade really ushered in the era that we’re in here now. What would you say has been your biggest highlight as your time as Wolverine? What was the best part of it?

Hugh Jackman: Doing this movie. This feels the most personal for me. I feel like I don’t think I could have made this movie three or four years ago. I think it’s part of my evolution I suppose of growing up, understanding the character, feeling confidence in who I am and where I am in this business. I had such a clear vision. I actually did a memo at four o’clock in the morning. I was out with Neill Blomkamp having dinner and we had a few drinks and he said, “Man, if you could do anything as Logan, what would it be?” And I was, “Blah, blah blah”. At four in the morning I woke up and said, “I’m going to record this.” I just found out that I recorded that memo March 2^nd, 2015 – which would be the day this comes out, two years later.

How about that?

Hugh Jackman: Yeah, so it’s really very close that. It feels very personal. This is the highlight for me.

Absolutely. In a perfect world, film rights aside, if you were offered the chance to be in an Avengers movie, would you be on for that? Would you be excited for it?

Hugh Jackman: If that was on the table when I made my decision, it certainly would have made me pause. That’s for sure. Because I always love the idea of him within that dynamic, with the Hulk obviously, with Iron Man but there’s a lot of smarter people with MBAs who can’t figure that out [laughter]. You never know.

What other characters or story arcs from comics, that haven’t gotten a chance to get into the movies, would you have like to have seen or seen come through?

Hugh Jackman: I don’t know. This was the one that I really thought…When I spoke with the guys who created Old Man Logan – a lot of people think, “Oh this is Old Man Logan.” And I’m like, “Well….” The inspiration for that was Unforgiven. That’s what we have in common. But there’s no Hulk babies in this one [laughter]

Definitely not.

Hugh Jackman: At the moment, honestly, if I really did have them there, I probably wouldn’t have said this is the last. It just feels like this is the right time [to leave the character].

Last one: Is this your last time as Logan?

Hugh Jackman: Yeah.

For sure?

Hugh Jackman: This is it.

And from us at Screen Rant, thank you Hugh for the entertainment and taking time to chat with us. And thank you Sean for coming down to New York and being a total pro in your first junket. You made it look easy!

More: Things You Need to Know About Wolverine’s Claws

In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan’s attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.

James Mangold directs Logan from a screenplay by Michael Green and Scott Frank & James Mangold and astory by David James Kelly and James Mangold. Logan is produced by: Hutch Parker, Simon Kinberg, Lauren Shuler Donner, and stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, and Dafne Keen.