Actor Hugh Jackman will be returning to the role of Logan a.k.a Wolverine in the upcoming MCU film Deadpool 3. The actor hung his claws for good after the release of the 2017 hit Logan but seems to have changed his mind about his retirement. The film will see him star along with Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool in a multiversal story directed by Shawn Levy.
Jackman played the role of Wolverine for seventeen years before Logan and is the only actor to have played the famous X-Man. His tenure in the X-Men series saw him play the role of the irreverent mutant superhero in nine out of the thirteen X-Men films. However, the films seem to have taken a toll on his singing voice as he mentioned that the excessive growling and yelling have affected his ability to do a falsetto.
Hugh Jackman’s Tenure As Wolverine In The X-Men Franchise
Though Hugh Jackman is now synonymous with Wolverine, the actor began his career on stage and had to be recommended by fellow Australian actor Russell Crowe for the part as he had not been in any major films at the time. Jackman was known for his stage work and had won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in Oklahoma.
Jackman starred as Logan in the first X-Men directed by Bryan Singer which was a massive commercial success. He reprised his role in X2, and X-Men: The Last Stand, both of which were commercial successes, while the former was considered to be one of the greatest superhero films at the time and surpassed the original in box office earnings.
Hugh Jackman received his own trilogy of films, starting with the origin story X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Though the film was a commercial success, earning $373 million, it was not received well by critics and fans. It was also the first appearance of Ryan Reynolds as a version of Wade Wilson a.k.a Deadpool, who was called Weapon X in the film.
After a cameo in X-Men: First Class, Jackman reprised his role in X-Men: Days of Future Past as well as his solo film The Wolverine. He announced that he would retire from the role in James Mangold’s Logan, which was set later in the timeline of the X-Men franchise and would be R-rated.
He held the Guinness World Record for longest career as a live-action Marvel character until he was surpassed by Sir Parick Stewart when he reprised his role as Professor X in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Hugh Jackman announced his return to the role of Wolverine in the upcoming MCU film Deadpool 3.
Hugh Jackman’s Portrayal Of Wolverine Affected His Vocal Cords
While Hugh Jackman is known for his action-heavy role in the X-Men franchise, he has been vocal about his love for musicals on multiple occasions. The actor began his career on the stage and had a sprawling musical career in the beginning when he starred in local productions of Summa Cabaret, Beauty and the Beast, and Sunset Boulevard.
Jackman got back to his musical roots when he starred in film musicals such as The Greatest Showman and Les Miserables, the latter for which he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He also returned to Broadway in 2023 with a revival of the famous musical The Music Man.
During his tour of The Music Man, Hugh Jackman revealed that playing Wolverine for seventeen years affected his vocal cords to the point where his falsetto was not what it used to be. He said in an interview with the BBC,
“My falsetto is not as strong as it used to be and that I directly put down to some of the growling and yelling.… We learned a technique [in school] of how to shout and how to yell without ruining your voice. However, during Wolverine, I did some screaming and yelling and things that I think did damage to my voice…I put a lot of effort into both physical movement and my vocal preparation for every role.”
The actor mentioned that he was working with a vocal coach to rectify this damage so that he could continue to give his best during a musical performance.
