Hugh Jackman, who last played Wolverine in 2017’s “Logan,” is finding it “a lot harder” to get back in shape as the character for the upcoming “Deadpool 3.”
Jackman, 54, was a guest recently on the Empire Film Podcast (via Comicbook), and was asked if his training for Wolverine had gotten easier given his hectic schedule.
“No, a lot harder,” Jackman said. “I’m doing eight shows a week right now, so I’m only lifting weights three times a week. But I’ll be getting into it once or twice a day as soon as this is done in a month. And I’ll have six months to prep, and I always have the same approach every time I go in.”
Jackman, who is currently starring in “The Music Man” on Broadway, added: “I want it to be better than ever, to be in better shape than ever, more able to do things than ever. I just get the added incentive of taking Ryan Reynolds out each day.”
It makes sense considering both Wolverine and Deadpool have no love for one another. “How do I categorize it? Ten being really close, zero being the reality, we’re zero, we’re opposites, hate each other,” Jackman said of the onscreen dynamic between the characters that audiences will see in the upcoming Marvel Studios-produced sequel.
Jackman added: “I’m just talking from my perspective, [Logan’s] frustrated by him, wants to be a million miles away from him or wants to punch him in the head. Unfortunately, he can’t be a million miles away from him in this movie, so I’m probably going to punch him in the head a lot.”
Jackman hung up his Wolverine blades with “Logan,” which was crafted as his swan song as the character after first debuting in 2000’s “X-Men.” The R-rated film was a massive success and even earned an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
With Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the “X-Men” library is destined to be rebooted, but Reynolds’ Deadpool was seen to be the only character that would survive a crossover into the carefully crafted Marvel Cinematic Universe (overseen by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige). Now, we have Jackman’s Wolverine to look forward to in “Deadpool 3,” hot on the heels of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X making a cameo in this year’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” — albeit as a different Charles Xavier from a different universe.
Similarly, Jackman has promised “Deadpool 3” won’t step on the toes of the finality established in “Logan” — the Wolverine we see in the “Deadpool” sequel is from an alternate timeline in which he didn’t die.
“Deadpool 3,” which will be directed by Shawn Levy, opens in theaters on Nov. 8, 2024.