Hugh Jackman's Flip-Flop On Desire To Play WOLVERINE Part Of New Contract Negotiation?

We've been hearing in recent interviews from Hugh Jackman, that he might be ready to hang-up his claws as Wolverine. This would be expected to happen after Wolverine 3 is released in 2017, but nothing had been official. By 2017, Jackman will have played the role nine times. It's not hard to imagine him wanting to move-on and allowing another actors to takeover the iconic comic book role.

Not so fast, during the Australian premiere of Days of Future Past, Jackman had changed his tune. While speaking with IGN on the red carpet, he's apparently now been given new energy from the recent film. Without spoiling the film, believing there is a lot more that can be said with the character.

“At one point, you’re right, I said I was pretty sure [that 'Wolverine 3' would be my last outing in the role]. But I’m less sure as it goes along. Because after seeing this movie, the whole thing feels fresher to me than ever. And during this movie…I don’t want to spoil anything, but it’s kind of like a clean slate, so who knows where it’s going to go. As long as I have the passion for it and the fans will have me.”

I have to agree there is plenty more left to be said concerning the stories of Wolverine. Considering we're now dealing with an alternate X-Men universe. Fox could perhaps reboot Logan's time with the Weapon X program, including his history going up-again Omega Red during the Cold-War. Even introducing Canada's own mutant team Alpha Flight, which Wolverine was a member of is now a viable option. Other interesting Wolverine stories include Horsemen of The Apocalypse, which might be influencing X-Men: Apocalypse. Jackman has mentioned an interest in the Old Man Logan story, that might be lip-service as it would be a difficult adaptation. Although, combing Old Man with elements of Mark Millar's Enemy of The State could work. Now that Wolverine's new legacy is open to new stories, anything can happen. Because of this, Wolverine 3 might not even become a direct sequel to The Wolverine. I wouldn't rule-out Logan being apart of the main lineup of Jeff Wadlow's X-Force.

This could all be a contract negotiation tactic, spearheaded by Jackman. There had been rumors (via TheNationalEnquirer) that Fox was considering re-signing Hugh for at least four more movies. This new deal would have likely included Wolverine 3, X-Men: Apocalypse and two unnamed films (X-Force being another?). The price-tag was estimated to be around $100 million. Hugh went on to deny the rumblings and gave a EW statement on why he wouldn't consider something like a multi-picture contract.

"No it’s not true. I would never do that. I’ve never done that mainly because, for the fans and for me, each time I’ve gone around there’s been a really good reason to do it and I don’t know what that reason is from here. I’m in the middle of making this and I just promoted the other and I’m really happy with the way The Wolverine came out."

I have to assume that Jackman truly doesn't want to be involved with multi-picture contracts, and you can't blame him. Everyone involved with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, have basically tried to forget it even happened. Producer Lauren Shuler Donner, has said as much when it comes to Origins and X3. It's possible if Jackman isn't allowed a say in future films development, it could end-up becoming another disaster.

A play-or-pay type of deal is likely what Hugh is actually looking for. Giving him the ability to agree to a project before there is an obligation to appear in it. At this point in Hugh's career and role within the X-Men franchise, it's not crazy to think he'd get more of say of the direction of the film's he's involved with. Perhaps, he also wants his responsibilities as producer increased as well. Of course, this is all speculation on my part, but it's doubtful Fox actually wants to let him go.

His new attitude towards the character, might be a hint that's found common ground with the studio concerning future films. It's also very possible that Fox has asked Jackman to be a bit more positive when speaking about his future in the franchise. He does have another two films to make, I'm not exactly sure how he signed-off on those movies without finished scripts.

FAN MADE: Posters For WOLVERINE 3, CAPTAIN MARVEL And INHUMANS

Who Should Play Villain Omega Red In WOLVERINE 3?

A villain for Wolverine 3 hasn't been revealed or confirmed by anyone involved with the project. However, I've had my own suspicions that Omega Red (or at least his technology) was hinted to a couple of times in The Wolverine. With this in mind, I've put together a wish-list of sorts for who should be considered for the role, if it even exists to be filled.

One of the biggest complaints I've had with the X-Men films is that post-X2 they really haven't had a really solid villain. Magneto and Stryker being the best to date, while there was some interesting elements to Shaw (Kevin Bacon) he didn't give-off a real threat-vibe in First Class. I'm sure Apocalypse will be a worthy adversary for the team, but I'm kind of hoping Fox and producers consider a very familiar X-Men villain for Wolverine 3.

Arkady Rossovich/Omega Red is Logan's second biggest villain next to Sabertooth and has yet to make an appearance in the films. He's a serial-killer turned Soviet super-weapon (came before Brubaker's Winter Soldier storyline) and eventually becomes uncontrollable due to his life-force draining tentacles and madness. A sort of evil version of Wolverine, had Logan been a monster prior to his Weapon-X transformation. There could be a bunch of ways to introduce Rossovich considering the character has ties to the Japanese underworld (The Yakuza). At one point yakuza crimelord Matsu’o Tsurayaba (Matta) becomes his handler. In the comics, Tsurayaba attempts a take over of the Yashida Clan. This eventually leads to the death of Mariko.

My choices for candidates include Daniel Craig (Skyfall, Road To Perdition, Munich, Defiance), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Headhunters, Game of Thrones, Gods of Egypt ), Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises, The Road, History of Violence) and Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal, The Hunt, Valhalla Rising)

DANIEL CRAIG: Daniel has bit of trifecta when it comes to links to actors in the Wolverine franchise. He's previously worked with Hugh Jackman on the stage and also co-starred with Liev Schreiber (Sabertooth) in the Russian WWII thriller Defiance. A role which saw Craig speak more than a few lines in Russian, having an actor that can convincing speak a foreign language is a major asset. He also doesn't play many villains and this would be a chance to really let him loose. I loved how cruel and dark he was in Road To Perdition, perhaps this could further explore that dark side. The only problem is that Craig could be called-up to shoot Bond 25 during the expected 2016 shoot for Wolverine 3. Not to mention Craig's price-tag might scare-off studios looking to save a few dollars.

NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDU: We've already seen his Game of Thrones co-star Peter Dinklage take the villainous role of Trask in Days of Future Past, why not include Nikolaj as well? He's got the look and brooding dark side needed for a role like this. He's yet to really jump feet-first into the comic book genre, even though he was in mix for a role in The Winter Soldier. He surprises me every episode of Thrones and played a solid villain in Headhunters.

VIGGO MORTENSEN: He might be hardest of the bunch to convince, but Viggo has the skills to really pull-off a morbid villain like this. The only problem is that Viggo sees himself more of an actor's actor, taking on more independent roles than big commercial ones post-LOTR. If Fox was aiming to shut-up a lot of critics suspect of the intentions of this project, hiring him could peak a lot of interest of film nerds. Landing the actor could prove to be hardest casting addition to the X-Men franchise.

MADS MIKKELSEN: He's already been linked for meeting with Marvel Studios about roles in Thor: The Dark World and possibly Doctor Strange, but nothing officially has been announced concerning those talks. Obviously, Mads is open to the idea and has starred in genre projects before. Fox could strike before Marvel get's around to finally hiring him, and he'd make a very chilling Omega Red for sure. Unlike, Craig he's likely able to commit to a project like this and has more of an open-mind than Viggo.

Fox Announces Release Dates For WOLVERINE 3, FANTASTIC FOUR 2 And Another Unnamed Marvel Film

20th Century Fox has finally announced the release date for their sequel to The Wolverine, tentatively title Wolverine 3. It's set to be released on March 3rd, 2017. This confirms previous statements made by writer/director James Mangold his Wolverine sequel would shoot next after X-Men: Apocalypse. No story elements have been confirmed, but I have a strong feeling we could be seeing Omega Red end up the big-bad of the third installment.

They went even further by announcing The Fantastic Four 2 release date, which at this point hadn't even been teased. The first film hasn't even begun production, but Fox has set the sequel's release for July 14th, 2017. Of course, this release date will likely depend on the first film being a success in 2015. The move here could be to lock-in director Josh Trank and the cast to the date, just in-case.

A third Marvel film was also announced for July 13th, 2018, but project is currently untitled. It could end up being X-Force (which is expected to happen sooner than 2018) or possibly a X-Men/Fantastic Four team-up, not unlike The Avengers.

The one thing that seems apparent with this news, Marvel/Sony/Fox are likely talking to each other to figure out release dates for their Marvel films. A sort of unified-front, rather than competing with each other. It looks like an all around good thing for the franchises, I can't say the same about future DC films and their release spots. As Warner Bros. will have manoeuvre their projects around multiple Marvel summer tentpoles in the future.

Could Christopher McQuarrie Help Develop Fox's Marvel Universe?

Christopher McQuarrie is best known for his screenwriting work on The Usual Suspects which earned him an Oscar. However, he's moving into the directing field with Jack Reacher and is being linked to direct Mission: Impossible 5. McQuarrie is uncredited but did help develop the X-Men franchise with Bryan Singer. Chris helped add some elements to the first two films and recently wrote the script for The Wolverine. In an interview with ScreenRant he mentions a meeting with Fox to help them flush out an expansive film universe for the X-Men. Similar to Marvel's cohesive cinematic universe that lead to Avengers' massive success.  


"You know, Bryan and I have talked about it a bunch of times – and in fact, right after I got back from shooting [Jack Reacher] I had a meeting with Tom Rothman – just a general meeting – and I said to Tom, ‘You know what I’d really love to do, is I’d really love to flesh out the X-Men Universe for you. You have this great wealth of these Marvel characters, and the X-Men franchise has only focused on a small handful of them – there’s many more.'" 

"And I thought that it’d be really cool to create a ‘bible’ – you know, a series of outlines of interlocking movies where you could do kind of what they did with ‘The Avengers,’ where you’re creating multiple movies that could come together as one movie here and there. And… you know… I never heard back [laughs]. But that would kinda be fun – to do something like that – where you could kind of become the curator for something like that." 


The only problem is that Fox hasn't really followed up on Christopher's offer and he could move on to write/direct other projects. Fox confirmed plans for their own Marvel film universe which would begin with The Wolverine leading into X-Men Days of Future Past and Josh Trank's Fantastic Four reboot. Producer Lauren Shuler Donner even stating we could be seeing the X-Men joining future installments of the Avengers if Marvel Studios was open to it. While Feige confirmed that Marvel and Fox co-owned mutants Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver who are established members of the Avengers and X-Men. Wolverine would be their big get as he's been one of the biggest faces of the Avengers team since the 90's.

Mark Millar had been hired to oversee the creative-side of this direction but a visionary hasn't been tapped to put it all together. Millar isn't a screenwriter and likely will be around to explain characters/storylines. Fox doesn't have a Joss Whedon so it sounds like they'll have to split the tasks to a group of people. Having McQuarrie involved could only improve chances for success, not to mention a director who could help make these spin-off films. Deadpool is still in limbo with Tim Miller signing on to a bunch of other directing projects. Also, if The Wolverine is successful enough they'll pursue a third film. X-Men 4, New Mutants/X-Force and Cable films have also been mentioned for possible next Marvel projects for the studio.