Hugh Jackman’s return to Marvel Studios as Wolverine has almost been like a fever dream for fans. Although every fan wanted him to come back in some way or another, they did not think their wishes would actually come true after the actor announced that he was retiring. However, now that he is coming back in Deadpool & Wolverine, one cannot help but wonder when the actor began to regret his decision to retire.
Many would expect it to be after the success of Logan, which became the third-highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. However, in a recent interview, Jackman revealed the real reason to be something entirely different.
Hugh Jackman Regretted His Retirement 3 Days After Announcing It
Hugh Jackman and the rest of the cast of Deadpool & Wolverine recently made an appearance at a sneak peek event in London (via Zachaniff on Instagram). During this interview, the actor revealed exactly what happened after he announced his retirement from playing Wolverine in the X-Men universe. It would seem that he regretted his decision very quickly after announcing it.
As the actor revealed, he watched the first Deadpool film three days after he made the news of his retirement public. Before this watch, he wasn’t fully aware of why the world so desperately wanted to see Wolverine interact with Deadpool. However, after watching the 2016 film, he understood the hype very quickly.
I thought that Logan was going to be my last and about three days after announcing that, I saw Deadpool 1 and I remember looking at the screen going, ‘oops’, because I could see what you guys could see and I could see it. I could actually see the movie. I saw why these two characters are perfect together.
He could see how these two characters would be the perfect juxtaposition to each other’s personalities, and how they could create a very hilarious film.
Hugh Jackman Took Years to Implement the Change of Heart
Even though Hugh Jackman changed his mind about coming back as Wolverine very quickly, he did not want to go back on his decision. Even though he first chose the release of 2016’s Deadpool, it took him years to finally listen to his heart. Remembering the exact date, the actor revealed that it was August 14th, 2022, when he officially changed his mind.
I still thought I was out but it was August 14th, 2022. I was driving my car. Nothing up here, (pointing at his head). In here, (pointing at his heart), something was screaming at me. I want to do this movie and I want to do it with Ryan Reynolds playing Deadpool and that was it and I rang him.
I pulled over the side of the road and I said, ‘Please tell me you’re not shooting already.’ He took a pause and he said, ‘No, I can’t believe you’re calling now because we just had to have a meeting with Lou and Kevin.
Even though he was driving his car and not thinking about much, he got a sudden urge to call Ryan Reynolds and tell him that he had changed his mind. Being afraid that shooting had already begun for the third Deadpool film, he told the actor that he was on board to play the character. Coincidentally, the first meeting with Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito about the movie was also on the very same day.
I was about to pitch another version with me to Lou and Kevin which they inevitably would have said ‘F*ck off’, But this time, I had with me a Hugh Jackman and a Wolverine, and that’s how it came to be.
Reynolds further elaborated that the original pitch for the film was going to be a long shot that the president and co-president would have certainly rejected. However, when he got Jackman on board, they knew that the film would be a smash hit like the past two projects.
