Jackman jacked about Wolverine
 

Hugh Jackman's not ready to hang up the claws just yet.

After three turns as Wolverine in X-Men movies, Jackman is looking forward to returning to the rough-and-tumble character in a solo film. In fact, if things fall into place, he could be slashing his way on the big screen as early as 2008.


While promoting the X-Men: The Last Stand -- the third movie featuring Marvel Comics' mutant heroes, which will be released on DVD on Oct. 2 -- Jackman said he hopes to film Wolverine next year.

"For me as an actor, it's an amazing part," Jackman said. "I think Wolverine, in, not just the comic-book genre, but any kind of action movie, is one of the great parts. I love playing him, and it's a challenge."

The solo film will likely deal with Wolverine's past and could bring back such X-Men villains as Stryker and Sabretooth. Whatever the story, Jackman said it's important that the Wolverine movie is not simply as a stand-in for X-Men 4.

"I want to make a piece that's in every way -- stylistically and character-wise -- that's different, that shows new stuff," Jackman said.

When the X-Men film franchise started in 2000, Jackman was basically an unknown actor from Australia, who got the role when Dougray Scott had to bow out because of a scheduling conflict with the second Mission: Impossible film.

Jackman quickly won over fans with his take on Wolverine and since then has proven his versatility -- both in film and on the Broadway stage. Clearly Jackman was never fearful of being stereotyped as Logan, and is eager to play him again. He'll even be a producer on the solo movie.

"The lucky thing I have, as a partner on this and playing Wolverine, the A-list of the A-list, and there are a number of them, are so passionate about this character and want to work on it," he said.

The timing couldn't be better. X-Men: The Last Stand set box-office records over the Memorial Day weekend and hauled in $234.3 million, easily topping both X-Men ($157.3 million) and X2 ($214.9 million).

Although The Last Stand had a lot going on -- the mutant cure, the Dark Phoenix and the introduction of such characters as Beast, Angel and Juggernaut -- Jackman continued to be the most popular X-Man, and ultimately, the key character in the story's resolution. He even got to do the Fastball Special -- a crowd-pleasing trademark X-Men maneuver where he is thrown by Colossus.

"For me, if you're going to play a role and you're going to do it again, you want to do it better, you want to take it further and you want to show more," Jackman said. "And in the script, I think we had the best script to start with of any of three."

And he wants to take it further in another film. So bring on the mutton chops. Bring on the bulking up. Bring on the cigars. And bring on the claws. Hugh Jackman's getting ready for Wolverine again, bub.

"I feel blessed to have the role," Jackman said. "Very blessed."

Hugh Jackman really is Wolverine in my book. He was born to play the role.

I loved him in VAN Helsing too :)

I love him just standing there doing nothing. Sigh. :>

I've been trying to collect all of his TV and film appearances, but I couldn't stand the music of The Boy from Oz (the Broadway play he did) so I never bothered to go see it. I have a few of his Aussie films and such as well as the more mainstream stuff he's done since X-Men came out.

I still didn't much like X-Men 3, especially for gutting the character of Dark Phoeniz, but Wolverine was great in it.

So I take it you liked Kate & Leopold ?

I know it was a chick flick, but I still liked it. [:x)]

I'm a sucker for time travel movies, so even without Jackman, I'd've eventually watched that one. It wasn't bad.

Maybe Hugh will come over and do your dishes so you can sit there and watch. [88][88]