Far from throwing anyone under the bus, Hugh Jackman outlined his thoughts and feelings on the Marvel world he had played such a key role in for 17 years. With his blockbuster Logan only days from debuting in US theaters nationwide on March 3, the 48-year old sounded relieved, content and at peace with his final portrayal of Wolverine.
But in order to feel passionate about the project and shape it in the way he wanted, he understood that he had to address some key concerns that were left behind in the series to date. Going back to James Howlett's roots and placing the superhero in a raw environment bereft of special effects, Jackman revealed that he had some convincing to do to get the movie off the ground.
HJ Cashes His Chips In On Logan
Giving a frank interview with The Guardian, the actor recalled the ultimatum he put on the table to the interested parties. Saying it was Logan or bust.
"Before Jim (James Mangold director) came up with the concept of the film, I knew it was going to be my last and I had a slightly gnawing feeling within that we hadn't done full justice to this character. We felt there was more to it," started the Australian. "I was more interested in what created that sort of thick, cigar-chomping, quipping sort of exterior and what was underneath all that. Where does that berserker rage come from? So Unforgiven was a movie that first came to mind. Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler. And I rang Jim and I said, 'I'm sure he's going to say no, as in the studio, but I'm pretty sure this is the movie I want to make and unless we can do that, I don't really want to do it.'"
X-Men Forgot Their Secret To Success: Jackman
With the successful superhero directors earning their stripes with smaller productions, Jackman argued that this grounding gave them a foothold to do something new with the fantasy realm. As in, tell a real story.
"Go back to the first X-Men film, Bryan Singer (director) had done Unusual Suspects. That was it. That was his biggest film he'd done, you know, a great film. But there was nothing studio or commercial about him. It was when (Christopher) Nolan took on Batman, you know Memento and Insomnia. I think taking these characters seriously and focusing on the human side of it as much as the superhuman was really what Bryan Singer started."
Taking a moment to pause, Jackman admitted that the franchise had shifted towards the CGI spectacle and lost focus of telling the genuine narrative.
"It may have got away from that for a while," he remarked. "Going back to make bold choices like - Fox, I have to hand it to them. What they did with Deadpool. I thought they'd say no to us but they didn't. Realizing we need to keep reinventing and take these fans and the world seriously. My hope is that people see this movie who have never seen a comic book movie. That to me would be a sign we did something good."
Source: The Guardian
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