Hugh Jackman reveals why he returned to his most-famous role in Deadpool & Wolverine

The Aussie A-lister has revealed what fans can expect when he teams up with Ryan Reynolds’ beloved Marvel character in the new Deadpool movie. Watch the video.

It’s the role that made him an international star – and one he been playing for 25 years – but Hugh Jackman thinks his new version of Wolverine is the best one yet.

It’s also a role he never thought he would play again.

After making his debut as the metal-clawed mutant as a last-minute replacement in the 1999 superhero hit X-Men, he returned to the comic book favourite nine more times before finally dramatically killing Wolverine off seven years ago in the highly acclaimed Logan.

Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan. Picture: 20th Century Studios

After declaring for years that he’d never go back, it took the prospect of teaming up with two of his best friends, actor Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy, to convince Jackman to return as an alternate-universe version of the character for the superhero team-up Deadpool & Wolverine, which is poised to become one the biggest movies of 2024 and is tipped to make more than US$1 billion at the global box office.

“Doing it with Ryan and Shawn, who happen to be two of my best friends in the world, this is a dream project,” said Jackman at a press conference in Seoul, Korea, as the global press tour for the movie gets underway.

“I am so proud of how the film came out and so thrilled to be back playing a role that I didn’t think I would play again and that meant I embraced it with all my heart and I have never been happier playing the role and I have never been prouder of a Wolverine movie or a movie where Wolverine was in it.”

Hugh Jackman says this is his best version of Wolverine yet. Picture: 20th Century Studios

Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson in the new superhero blockbuster that comes out on July 25. Picture: 20th Century Studios

Jackman and Reynolds met playing very different versions of the Marvel comic-book characters while making 2009’s Sydney-shot X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The two became fast friends, despite a faux rivalry that has seen them hilariously taking potshots at each other on social media for more than a decade and continues unabated.

Watch the moment Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds chat at their press conference in South Korea

Both actors had also worked with Levy on other projects and all three had been looking for a project to do together when the opportunity arose to bring the X-Men characters into the long-running Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“We all hang out every single day in our real lives, we all live just blocks from each other in New York City,” said Reynolds of the three-way bromance. “I love these two guys the way I would love my own brothers – probably more.”

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman promote Deadpool & Wolverine in Seoul on July 4. Picture: AFP

Reynolds, who co-produced the first two Deadpool movies, and starred as the foul-mouthed, facially scarred antihero, said that his real-life connection with Jackman also translated on to the screen, even if he spent “literally all my waking hours dreaming up ways to prank Hugh”.

“There are a lot of moments in the movie where it’s hard to distinguish whether Deadpool is talking to Wolverine or is it Ryan talking to Hugh or Hugh talking to Ryan,” said Reynolds. “And those are some of the scenes I am most proud of in the movie and that anchor it in something that is quite real and gratifying.”

Hugh Jackman says he’s ‘never been prouder’ ahead of the new Deadpool & Wolverine film. Picture: AFP

Jackman said that all concerned were aware of the huge expectations for Deadpool & Wolverine to do big numbers when it opens on July 25 in a so-far shocking year for Hollywood blockbusters and that comes at a time where the once-mighty MCU has hit a flat spot after commercial flops such as last year’s The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

“We are keenly aware of anticipation and expectation but I can promise you and I can say this on behalf of all three of us that no one expects more of us than us ourselves,” Jackman said. “That’s one thing all three of us have in common.”