Logan was a beautiful swan song for Hugh Jackman, and the character that he has cultivated for over 15 years. His Wolverine is the most fully realized comic book character put on film, and it would be no small feat to replace him. How do you replace an actor who is so tied to a particular role?
Well, according to Logan producer Hutch Parker, maybe you don’t. Talking to CinemaBlend, the producer shared his feelings about picking a new actor to fill Hugh Jackman’s shoes:
“It’s a great question. Look, I think for all of us, at the moment, and for some of us it goes back to the very first time Hugh put on the costume. The idea of casting someone else as Wolverine is just not something I can think about. [Laughs] And I don’t know. There’s part of me that thinks that he’s done such a brilliant job and is so iconic in the part, that we should leave it alone. And yet, I know there’s always a possibility that either we find a story, or a situation comes along where you think, ‘OK, maybe we should consider that.’ But at the moment, we’re kind of leaving that alone.”
SEE ALSO: Logan director James Mangold teases Dafne Keen’s return as X-23
Wolverine is, what will surely be, the first of many characters who are going to need a replacement down the line. The X -Men franchise, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been going for years now, and the actors are getting older. Hugh Jackman is the first to call it quits, but who will be next? Captain America? Robert Downey Jr. won’t be Iron Man forever, surely. This is a delicate process, and maybe the best option is to simply let things lie for a while, and explore new characters. Characters like Wolverine can always come back from the dead, later on, like they always conveniently do in the comics.
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.
Logan reunites Hugh Jackman with The Wolverine director James Mangold and also stars Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Richard E. Grant, Stephen Merchant, Dafne Keen, Eriq La Salle, Elizabeth Rodriguez and Elise Neal.
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Originally published May 19, 2017. Updated November 25, 2019.
