In a surprise announcement recently, Hugh Jackman confirmed that he’ll be joining Ryan Reynolds in the highly anticipated sequel Deadpool 3. Better still, both men are making their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) shortly. Now, Jackman may have once said that he was already retiring from playing the famous X-Men mutant, but it seems his good friend (or rather, frenemy) Reynolds managed to convince him to suit up once more.
And while Deadpool 3 is still in the early stages of development, it seems that Jackman is already starting to bulk up for the role once again.
Hugh Jackman On Playing Wolverine Again: ‘A Little Part Of Me Now Thinks I’d Be Better At It’
So far, Jackman has already played Wolverine throughout nine movies. His last outing had been the 2017 R-rated film Logan where his character dies protecting a mutant girl in the end. And just when everyone (including Jackman) thought that would be the end of it, the actor suddenly decided to reprise the role one more time.
And while Jackman admitted that he was already having second thoughts about retiring while watching Reynolds’ first Deadpool film, he didn’t officially agree to return until last August. Turns out Reynolds has also been trying to convince him to star in Deadpool for several years now.
“I think, actually, he’d given up,” Jackman said of Reynolds. “I think it was a big shock to him. There was a massive pause, and then he said, ‘I can’t believe the timing of this.’”
And now that he’s officially back, Jackman is feeling quite good about portraying Wolverine for the tenth time. “A little part of me now thinks I’d be better at it,” he remarked.
“Is that arrogance of age or something? Wolverine’s a tortured character — more tortured than me. But I always get the feeling of him being comfortable in his own skin. And I feel more comfortable in my own skin now, even though it’s messier.”
He Already Started Bulking Up For Deadpool 3
At the moment, Jackman is still busy with other projects, particularly The Music Man on Broadway where he is currently playing Professor Harold Hill.
And despite losing 1,500 calories a night, the actor is already starting to build muscle for his upcoming role. “Apologies to the entire cast of The Music Man, and in particular my dresser and my wife — all the protein shakes are starting to kick in fast,” Jackman remarked.
As it turns out, bulking up this early has also resulted in some wardrobe malfunctions. “The other night, I could hear the Velcro go creaking and actually popped open. I’ve split two pairs of pants,” the actor revealed.
“It was an 18-inch tear. I had about two minutes. I said to the stage manager, ‘New pair of pants!’ I had my pants around my ankles. I thought, if my dresser doesn’t get here in time, it’s better to go on in split pants than no pants. Then I saw him running from stage right to stage left, top speed. We made it just in time.”
In The Past, Hugh Jackman Said That His Wolverine Role Was ‘The Easiest To Bounce Back Into’
Perhaps, of all the characters he’s played over the years, Wolverine has always been the most familiar for the actor, and every time he returned, it seems to be “more fun.”
“Of all the bouncing around I do, the Wolverine role’s the easiest to bounce back into,” Jackman once explained while promoting the 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past.
“People might assume that I’m getting tired of it, but I don’t – it’s getting more engaging. I’m having more fun with the character than ever before.”
That said, preparing to play Wolverine takes time. It’s a process that usually starts even when Jackman is still working on another movie. This had been the case when the actor was set to reprise his role in X-Men Origins: Wolverine while he was still filming Baz Luhrmann’s Australia.
“When we were building Hugh up for the Wolverine movie, we got a call from Baz Luhrmann who was directing Hugh in the movie Australia. Baz said, ‘Come on, guys, back it off! He’s getting too big,’” Mike Ryan, Jackman’s personal trainer, recalled during a 2009 interview with Men’s Fitness.
“And you can see Hugh getting bigger in the film.”
For Ryan, the goal has always been more than just getting bigger. “In Wolverine, Hugh looks big onscreen, but really he’s just ripped,” he explained. “That’s the secret to looking good. It’s not just about getting big, it’s about getting ripped.”
And to get ripped, Jackman would start training the moment he woke up. “Research suggests that people who train in the afternoons consistently do workouts of far less intensity than those who do train in the morning,” Ryan said. “When Hugh has a 6 am filming start, that means we’ll be in the gym by 4 am.”
Deadpool 3 is set for release on November 8, 2024.