The Australian actor Hugh Jackman hung up his claws after playing Logan/Wolverine for the last time in the final standalone movie of the franchise. He has given over a decade of his life to this character, and have played it like a boss.
He has been revered by both critics and fans for his masterful performances in successive X-Men and independent Wolverine movies. He has been talking about the film for a long time, asking fans to contribute and tell him what they would like to see in his swan song as Wolverine.
It’s almost unimaginable to even think of any other actor besides Hugh Jackman to bring this character to life on screen. He has shown an inclination towards actor Tom Hardy as his potential successor, someone who could carry the role of a young wolverine with panache. He was asked about his personal choice of an actor who could play this character by a media correspondent, he told him “That’s a great question. I haven’t given it a lot of thought. I’ve been asked the question a lot and I’m always like – I don’t want to make it too easy on the studio to replace me. I’ve still got one more to do. I’m sure they’re already talking about it, that some actor out there they’ve already said shhh… keep it quiet but we want you next. He’s younger than me for sure, I think Tom Hardy would be great”.
But guess what Tom Hardy could have actually played young Wolverine along with the lines of Michael Fassbender playing Magneto or James McAvoy playing young Charles Xavier. When Matthew Vaughn was working on X-Men: First Class, he conceived an X-Men prequel movie where he wanted to cast Tom Hardy as young Wolverine but the project was discarded by the studio. He said to Deadline:
“When we finished it, I remember saying to Simon Kinberg and Emma Watts; guys, this feels like it should be the third of the trilogy. It’s such a big concept. Why don’t we do another, one set in the ’70s, because of Young Wolverine, and then the third one is Days of Future Past, where you’re seeing the Young Wolverine with, let’s say it’s Tom Hardy, and Hugh Jackman and all the other characters were together. For me, that’s the end of a trilogy. How do you beat that? And I got told no, and when I’m in my sandpit, I don’t like hearing no if I think it’s a good idea.”
He played an important role in reviving the X-Men franchise after Brett Ratner buried it with X3, entirely messing the timeline. But then Bryan Singer came back to direct X-Men: Days of Future Past. Vaughn had this to say:
“I adore Bryan, and I thought, you know what, I’m going to hand the baton to him. Bryan was nice enough to give me the baton to run with. And I ran with it, and didn’t fall over, and I handed it back.”
But one thing is clear now that Tom Hardy is the perfect choice for playing the character of “Wolverine” onscreen. He is no stranger to “Superhero” genre. He pulled off a great performance as Bane in the last installment of Dark Knight trilogy. He is in his late 30’s while Hugh Jackman is in his forties. He has got just the right age to play young Logan and serve the character for a decent amount of time. He is suave, macho and has got the brilliant physique to portray the iconic character.
The studio and X-Men creators have an opportunity to lock Tom Hardy for the role and sign a multi-year contract with him before he is offered a meaty role by rival studios. He will surely take Wolverine to new, interesting directions which we haven’t seen before.
Don’t Miss: 10 Upcoming Movies You Had No Idea Were Coming
