When an actor spends long enough with a beloved character, they become inextricable from that figure's public perception. Hugh Jackman portrayed Wolverine ten times over seventeen years, including his first and last big-screen appearances. It's the role he's best known for, and he is the face of James Howlett. His character will be returning, despite the best imaginable send-off already coming to a close.
Superheroes are generally the most heavily scrutinized characters in modern cinema. Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman have had multiple portrayers over the years with wildly differing approaches, strengths, and weaknesses. Wolverine has had one primary live-action face from the very beginning and no one has even tried to find a new one. They never had to.
Hugh Jackman got the call to put on the claws after the screenwriter's original choice for the role, Russell Crowe, dropped his name to the producer. His wife advised against it, calling it ridiculous, but Jackman fully dedicated himself to the part. He studied Mike Tyson for fight scenes, built muscle until he could bench 300lbs, and insisted on doing his own stunts. Whether the films were good or bad, Jackman's Wolverine was unassailable. From his debut in the original X-Men, every fan and newcomer agreed that the world had found the only Logan they'd ever need. In 2017, after seventeen years with the character, Jackman prepared to retire the character. To say goodbye to a role like this one, he'd need to go big.
James Mangold's Logan is exactly what everyone wanted from a Wolverine movie. After two messy solo projects, they threw caution to the wind and gave the character the film he deserved. It's a grim and gritty R-rated western about the process of growing old and moving on. It's quintessentially and metatextually perfect as a send-off for the character. Unlike most comic book movie characters, Wolverine goes out on top. His life isn't a happy one, but it may be the most thematically flawless conclusion any superhero ever experienced on the big screen. On top of wrapping up Jackman's time with Wolverine, it also wraps up Patrick Stewart's time with Professor X. Both characters have been around for decades, but Stewart wasn't the only performer to take the role. It's a powerful moment, an ending that audiences don't often get anymore. It was a beautiful moment, but is it cheapened by the fact that both of those characters didn't actually say goodbye?
Hugh Jackman is set to come back to the claws and the silly haircut for the upcoming Deadpool 3. It's the primary point of the film's marketing strategy at the moment. In the comics, Logan and Wade have a long and messy history. He's the ultimate straight man to Deadpool's wacky antics and the only character who can match his immortal antics. The other Deadpool movies have made constant reference to Jackman's performance in the role. The first piece of spoken dialogue in Deadpool 2 is the Merc' with the Mouth cursing Wolverine for his fate in Logan. From Deadpool's perspective, Jackman's Wolverine is the perfect escalation for the end of a trilogy. Though it'll undoubtedly be fun to see him return, is the fun of Logan diminished by knowing that the heartbreaking final moment and the masterful final shot aren't actually the end?
Most comic book movie heroes don't get a proper send-off. The actor leaves the project without fanfare, they get recast by the studio, their entire franchise ends, or worse. None of us know when the next ax will fall, whether it's a higher-up decision or a more tragic happening. Deadpool 3 might come up with a way to give Wolverine another great farewell. Logan remains one of the most perfect explorations of a superhero ever put to screen. We may still see Patrick Stewart's Professor Xavier in future Marvel films, but those appearances will only be memorable in so far as they serve his larger history with the character. When the inevitable happens, we'll all remember the good moments. No matter what happens in Deadpool 3 we can all probably guess which image we'll remember as Wolverine's send-off.
Cinematic universes and massive franchises lack restraint. By and large, they have no respect for their characters, performers, or stories. Nothing ever really ends so long as it's still marketable. Some consider Avengers: Endgame a suitable send-off for some of its characters, but new variants of the same characters simply filled their place and the story marched on. Everything leads into everything else to the point that very little can ever end properly. Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is one of the best superhero performances of all time and every new showcase for him is a proper send-off. He was great in the good films and the bad films. However Jackman leaves the role, we'll always have Logan.