20th Century Fox may have struck out with their "Fantastic Four" reboot, but the studio still has big plans for their "X-Men" film universe. Next year will see the release of three big comic book movies ("X-Men: Apocalypse," "Deadpool," "Gambit") from the studio. But 2017 marks an important year as well as Hugh Jackman's nearly two decades as Wolverine will come to an end.
Not a whole lot is known of the story for the third solo film, titled "Wolverine," but Jackman has teased that it will be somewhat inspired by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's iconic "Old Man Logan" story arc. Jackman has gone so far as to ask the fans what they would like to see in his last clawed performance and now he's discussing their response.
"There were a lot of calls for Victor Creed [Sabretooth] to come back," Jackman said via the Sydney Confidential Podcast. "I must admit I was quite heartened by a number of people saying please don't make it the last, but look, I'm really excited about this last one. And if you're a comic book fan, the words 'berserker rage' came up a lot. If you know Wolverine, you'll understand."
For the uninitiated, Wolverine's "berserker rage" would occur when he fully gave in to his animalistic tendencies and purged his morality for short bursts of violent, destructive action.
Sabretooth, meanwhile, was featured in Bryan Singer's original "X-Men" from 2000 and was played by Liev Schrieber in the poorly received "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." Although the character does not appear in physical form in "Old Man Logan," creating a role for him (he is, after all, Wolverine's most well-known adversary) makes sense for Jackman's last go-around.
Wolverine has been one of Fox's most profitable characters since they launched their comic book movie universe 15 years ago. The studio knows it must go out with a bang for Jackman's last turn as the feisty yet lovable X-Man.
"Wolverine" is due out in theaters on March 3, 2017.
