Director James Mangold reacted to the news of Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine with a tweet that was beginning to cause controversy before the filmmaker doused the flames with a follow-up post. Mangold directed Jackman in two solo Wolverine movies — 2013’s moderately well-received The Wolverine, and its Academy Award-nominated 2017 follow-up Logan.
The latter film, designed as a Western drama in the vein of The Last of Us and Children of Men, became an instant hit, grossing over $600 million worldwide and scoring Jackman the best reviews of his superhero film career. It also served as a fitting swan song for a character that he’d been playing for 17 years. But Ryan Reynolds surprised everyone on Wednesday when he announced that Jackman would return as Wolverine in the upcoming Deadpool 3.
In a video brimming with his trademark humor and boasting his marketing acumen, Reynolds said that he’d spent a long time trying to brainstorm Deadpool’s debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But he’d failed. The only bright idea he had was the one he was going to execute. Just then, Jackman walked across the frame behind him, and Reynolds asked, “Hey, Hugh, want to play Wolverine one more time?” Jackman replied without looking up, “Yeah, sure, Ryan.”
While fans were obviously surprised — everyone had said their final goodbyes to Jackman’s version of the character five years ago — Mangold appeared to be taken aback as well. He posted a wordless GIF from the climax of Logan, showing Jackman’s Wolverine being impaled on a log, moments before his eventual death. The film ended with a shot of his grave.
But when people started asking him if his tweet was a salty indication of his disapproval, he wrote that wishes nothing but the best for both Reynolds and Jackman, and remains unconcerned about what narrative trickery they use to bring Wolverine back from the dead. In his own words:
“Oh my gosh! Everybody chill. Just kidding! I’m all good! LOGAN will always be there. Multiverse or prequel, time warp or worm hole, canon or non-canon or even without a rationale, I cannot wait to see what madness my dear friends @VancityReynolds and @RealHughJackman cook up!”
It was previously announced that Shawn Levy will be directing Deadpool 3. The filmmaker has worked with Reynolds on Free Guy and The Adam Project, and with Jackman on the underrated Real Steel. The first Deadpool film was directed by Tim Miller, and became a surprise blockbuster with over $782 million at the global box office; the second film was directed by David Leitch, and made $785 million worldwide. Reynolds’ video ended with a tease of the new film’s logo — a Deadpool symbol with three claw marks scratched across it — and by revealing the release date: September 6, 2024.
Jackman will soon be seen in the awards contender The Son. Mangold is awaiting the release of Indiana Jones 5. You can check out his tweets here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
