Hugh Jackman Finally Addresses Those Wolverine MCU Rumors

There are only a handful of actors who have become truly synonymous with the characters they've played on screen. We're talking about public personalities who seem to gel perfectly with the role they're known for, like Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark or Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. Although he's not as angry as Wolverine, Hugh Jackman will always be known for his incredible work playing the legendary comic book mutant too.

The star appears in 9 "X-Men" movies as the character (via IMDb), including a trilogy of his own solo adventures that take the time to flesh out Wolverine's saga. Jackman's last outing as the hero came in 2017's "Logan," an emotional story from director James Mangold that depicts a lawless world where Professor X (Patrick Stewart) has accidentally killed the X-Men after losing control of his powers. The film also introduces X-23 (Dafne Keen), a young Wolverine clone whom Jackman's Logan has to protect from a sinister corporation.

Following Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019, many Marvel fans continue to wonder when/how mutants will be introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Indeed, it's only a matter of time now before the X-Men finally make their presence known in the MCU, but will Hugh Jackman's Wolverine be among them? The star recently shared an image of the character's Adamantium claws as well as a photo of himself and Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige, and the posts, unsurprisingly, led many comic book fans to ask: Is Hugh Jackman going to reprise the role of Wolverine in the MCU? 

Well, the actor is opening up now about the rumors of his return.

While doing press for his new sci-fi thriller, "Reminiscence," Hugh Jackman recently spoke to Screen Rant about the ongoing Wolverine rumors. When asked if he's planning to put on the Adamantium claws again, Jackman said that his time playing the mutant is over, admitting, "It's in my past, man. Don't tell anyone, alright?" Despite the straightforward nature of his answer, the actor wasn't being dismissive of his time working with Marvel and Fox on the "X-Men" franchise. In fact, Jackman quickly went on to explain that he's still grateful he got to see the superhero genre flourish over the years, saying, "There's not a day goes by where I'm not unbelievably grateful for having been part of that MCU Universe."

Jackman also said that he's so happy to see how Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has moved up in the world and how he's built the MCU, adding that he's gotten to watch Feige go "from being an assistant to a producer and a mate of mine, to where he is today." The actor ended his answer by saying he's not taking things lightly when he says he's finished with the role, noting, "I don't ever want people to feel that when I say I'm done, it's a glib thing. It was one of the great chapters of my life." In case his love for Wolverine wasn't already clear enough, Jackman also called the comic book character "a role of a lifetime."

While it sounds like Hugh Jackman has firmly closed the door on playing Wolverine ever again, that's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, he was able to explore the character in ways many actors never get the chance to, and "Logan" really gives Jackman's Wolverine the emotional send-off he deserves. While it seems inevitable that someone will pick up the Wolverine mantle in the MCU at some point, there's no denying that they'll have some big claws to fill.