Hugh Jackman to return as Wolverine in Deadpool 3; film set for 2024 release

Wolverine and Marvel-DC fans, you have a wolf-sized reason to cheer. Hugh Jackman is returning as your favourite superhero in the third film in the “Deadpool” series, fellow Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds announced on Wednesday.

The only sad part for fans is that you must wait for two more years. In a video released on Tuesday and further teased on Wednesday, Reynolds, who plays Deadpool, revealed that “Deadpool 3” will hit the theatres only in 2024.

“Hey everyone, we’re extremely sad to have missed D23, but we’ve been working very hard on the next ‘Deadpool’ film for a good long while now,” Reynolds says in the video. He was referring to the Disney D23 Expo held earlier in September.

Also read: I was on the verge of getting fired from X-Men: Hugh Jackman

Deadpool shifts to MCU

For the next film, Deadpool is shifting to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), thanks to 20th Century Fox’s merger with Disney. “I’ve had to really search my soul on this one. His first appearance in the MCU obviously needs to feel special. We need to stay true to the character, find new depth, motivation, meaning. Every ‘Deadpool’ needs to stand out and stand apart,” he says.

But he had “nothing,” he confesses, before adding, “…we did have one idea,” before addressing Jackman, who saunters in the background. “Hey, Hugh,” Reynolds calls. “You wanna play Wolverine one more time?”

“Yeah. Sure, Ryan,” Jackman says as a climbs up a flight of stairs. A text pops up on screen, announcing that the film is “COMING HUGHN” as Whitney Houston’s “And I will always love you” (“you” replaced with “Hugh” in the subtitles) plays. The text also declares the September 6, 2024, release date. The video ends with Wolverine’s claws slicing up the Deadpool logo.

Also read: Ben Kingsley to return as Trevor Slattery for Marvel’s Wonder Man series

Back from the dead

“Hard keeping my mouth sewn shut about this one,” Reynolds tweeted along with the video. “Mouth sewn shut” refers to a scene at the end of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009), where Reynolds shows up as Deadpool with his mouth sewn shut.

Shawn Levy, who recently directed Reynolds in “Free Guy” and “The Adam Project,” will also direct “Deadpool 3.” Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who penned the first two “Deadpool” films, have also written the third one.

Jackman played Wolverine on screen for 17 years before the character died in the 2017 film “Logan,” directed by James Mangold. After that, Jackman had even released a video thanking fans for years of support. However, not all goodbyes are forever, right?