Hugh Jackman has pitched one of the most potentially badass superhero face-offs that could occur as a result of a recent partnership between production companies Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment and also makes a stimulating analogy when talking about reprising his role as Wolverine in more films.
The 46-year-old Australian actor, who can be seen next month in the new, non-superhero thriller film Chappie, is best known for his role as the clawed Marvel Comics mutant. He has already appeared in five X-Men films and two Wolverine spinoffs.
"I was sort of surprised, a little bit, although I could see the possibilities of that partnership working," Jackman told E! News. "It's interesting. I mean, I'm an actor first, I'm a movie fan first, I've come to love comic books—I didn't as a kid, but, you know, I love it when people go, 'Woah, what if Iron Man faced off with Wolverine, that'd be cool,' and I go, 'Yeah, I'd love to do that movie with Robert Downey Jr. I'm in.'"
Jackman had previously expressed interest in a Wolverine-Iron Man face-off in a future crossover film, in a 2013 interview with ComingSoon.net.
The production companies' partnership was announced on Monday. Under the terms of the deal, Spider-Man, a beloved Marvel Comics superhero whose movie rights have been licensed for years to Sony Pictures Entertainment, will for the first time appear in a film from Marvel's Cinematic Universe, Disney-owned Marvel announced, adding that the two companies are "also exploring opportunities to integrate characters from the MCU into future Spider-Man films."
It is expected that the first non-Spider-Man movie the web-slinger will appear in will be Captain America: Civil War, as Spidey had appeared prominently in the comics. The movie is set for release on May 6, 2016.
Chris Evans plays the Marvel Comics superhero Captain America for the third time, while Downey reprises his role as Iron Man, marking the first time he will appear in a Marvel superheroes film that isn't in the Iron Man or The Avengers franchises. He and other Marvel characters have occasionally been featured with Spider-Man in comic books and cartoons.
Jackman, meanwhile, is set to reprise his role as Wolverine in another standalone movie, due in 2017, and could also come back for the upcoming 2016 film X-Men: Apocalypse, although that has not been confirmed.
"You know, I have been speaking with the guys and I am not at liberty to tell exactly what's going on," he said on Josh Horowitz's podcast Happy Sad Confused in December. "What I do know is there are some very exciting things about integrating the whole X-Men world, including the Wolverine movie. So, there's some really cool things going on."
When asked about playing the character again, Jackman told E! News, "I just figure it's a question of age. As long as I can get the claws up without taking a little blue pill, then I'm fine with it."
—Reporting by James Chairman