Hugh Jackman Talks ‘Wolverine’ Sequels
Hugh Jackman is heavily promoting Baz Luhrman’s Australia, which opened on Wednesday and has happily spoken of his next big film, X-Men: Origins: Wolverine.
”If it’s clear to us on May second or third that that’s gone, then I’ll walk away happily," Jackson told Moviehole about his tenuous future as Logan. ”I’m not going to flog something – or flog a dead horse, or try and make movies that people don’t really want to go and see. I have no interest in that. Even no matter how much I love the character. So there are many prerequisites".
Jackman has made the character his pet project, taking on production chores and as a result is already thinking about future installments. "There’s a few story lines that are running my head which I think would be really cool, but unless the script is right, then I just don’t see the point in doing it. I’m probably at the point in my career where I don’t need it. And the last thing I want to do is just to push it on people, if it doesn’t warrant a full feature movie.”
He also discussed how the solo project came about. “David Benioff, one of the great writers in Hollywood, came knocking at our door,” Jackman explained. “And I went and had a meeting with him, and he told me his idea. And I just went, ‘That is so brilliant.’ Now, I know this character by now, and he is a mad, mad fan of the comic books. He’s not cheap. But he came to us with this idea, which was smart and interesting. And it was also steeped in a deep love of the character, and the comic book history. So I just went, ‘Okay. There’s a reason to make this film.’ I was always a mad fan, in reading the comics, of the Wolverine in Japan saga, which is one of the most famous. But ultimately, we all decided – I think rightly, after seeing the film – that you need to understand the character’s origins, to understand who he is. And to really get it. So that’s what the movie does. It goes right back to him as a kid, basically.”
Additionally, Fox News reports that he will return to the Broadway stage as legendary magician Harry Houdini.
“Danny Elfman, once the leader of pop group Oingo Boingo and now often a composer of movie scores, is writing the music. Kurt Andersen, a former magazine editor and current radio host here in New York, is said to be working on the script although no one’s seen anything yet,” the site reports.
“The main thing is that Hugh is already working on magic routines. The show, when it materializes, would include Jackman replicating big Houdini tricks on stage. Hugh has already played a magician in the movie, The Prestige, so he’s up for it. Magician extraordinaire Ricky Jay is said to be giving him advice. At some point the producers may reach out to David Blaine and to Cirque du Soleil for help.”