“There Were Grown Men, Like, Sobbing”: Hugh Jackman on the ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Set

Hugh Jackman is a comic book movie icon, so it makes sense that the mere sight of him can apparently reduce grown men to tears.

Hugh Jackman began portraying Wolverine/Logan/James Howlett in X-Men (2000), the monumental kickoff to the Fox X-Men film franchise. In the 24 years since, his clawed hero has become the center of the X-Universe, only intermittently being threatened as the face of the series by the likes of Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique or Michael Fassbender as Magneto.

In 2017, Hugh Jackman announced his official retirement from the character with Logan, a gritty neo-Western (directed by James Mangold) starring himself, Patrick Stewart, and Dafne Keen that was widely viewed as a swansong for the franchise itself. Now in his 50s, it seemed like Jackman was finally done with the character and that Wolverine would be recast for the inevitable entry of mutantkind into the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Related: Confirmed: Deadpool To Eradicate the Marvel Universe, Will Kill off Captain Marvel and Spider-Man

Then Marvel Studios announced that Deadpool 3 had been retooled into Deadpool & Wolverine and that Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) would be joined by Logan (Jackman) for one more adventure. While the X-Men member has often traveled through time and space, this new adventure would take place across the Multiverse, which means that the Wolverine that we see in the film is not the same one we watched for years but, instead, a Variant.

That further means we finally get to see the comic book-accurate yellow-and-blue X-Men outfit that the first film in the franchise actually went out of its way to mock. Times have changed a lot since then, and in 2024, Marvel fans are over the moon to see Hugh Jackman decked out in a garishly colored superhero costume.

In fact, according to Deadpool & Wolverine executive producer Wendy Jacobson, the first time that Hugh Jackman wore the costume on set was such an emotional moment that it made production members weep.

In an interview with HeyUGuys, Jacobson said, “It was the camera test before we started shooting, and to see both of those guys in costume together was just mind-blowing. But Hugh walking out in the yellow and blue, there were grown men, like, sobbing on the set. So we knew it was a very special thing.”

Related: Disney Scores New Hit MCU Series, ‘X-Men’ Falls behind as ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Looms

The producer continued, discussing how the entire film felt momentous:

“In my wildest dreams I never could have imagined being part of a project like this. Even if just from the auspices of being part of a project like Deadpool & Wolverine with these characters, and on a personal level, being able to collaborate or try to contribute one iota. It’s been the most gratifying experience of my entire life. I keep semi-joking that maybe I should retire because I just don’t know what I could possibly do that will ever be as good as this again.

In 24 years, comic book movie culture went from making fun of Wolverine’s costume to breaking down emotionally over it. Really makes you think, probably.

Deadpool & Wolverine stars Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen. It is scheduled for release in American theaters on June 26