When all the hype for Logan began way back in March 2015, Hugh Jackman tweeted that it
would be his "last time putting on the claws."
Given how many times Jackman has donned the adamantium claws and played the scrappiest
mutant in the X-Universe, it's no wonder that he's finally ready to step away from the role.
But his departure opens up a very big question that's on every superhero movie fan's mind:
who should play Wolverine after Jackman?
While it seems plausible that Fox could cast a relatively unknown actor, there's just as
good a chance we'll see a more established actor pick up the claws.
While you might not agree with some of these ideas for replacements, but there's a chance
that one of them could be the next Wolverine.
Tom Hardy
Here's the man who's got the best possible positioning going into this discussion: Hugh
Jackman actually said outright, "I think Tom Hardy would be a great Wolverine."
Of course, that's assuming that Hardy would actually want to be Wolverine, since at this
point he pretty much has his pick of any movie he wants.
At the very least, though, there's no question that you'd get some fantastic acting out of
Logan if Hardy were to play the part.
Just look at whatever this is!
"Right, that's enough! He's had enough. Get him out of here!"
Liam Hemsworth
We already know that playing comic book heroes runs in the Hemsworth family, so why not make
Liam Logan?
As it stands right now, though, Thor and Wolverine aren't in the same movie universes anyway,
so the family resemblance might never actually be an issue should he get the role.
But Liam's clearly proven his chops as an action hero already, so kicking things up
a notch and giving him a chance to play Wolverine wouldn't be out of the question for this rising
action star.
Kit Harington
Sure, Harington's got a lot on his plate, what with Game of Thrones and all.
But when the series has run its course, it'll probably be right about time for someone else
to step in and take over for Jackman.
We already know that he's capable of being a badass, and he's about as high-profile an
actor as 20th Century Fox could hope to get in the role.
It's win-win for everyone!
Penn Badgley
The former Gossip Girl star hasn't managed to secure a real breakout role since wrapping
up his run as Dan Humphrey, but for those who've been paying attention, he's been turning
critics' heads in such films as Greetings from Tim Buckley, Cymbeline, and The Paper
Store while also fronting the band MOTHXR.
Not that we're discouraging the man from his music career, but this is the sort of role
that might lead him to drop the mic and step back in front of the camera full-time.
Taylor Kitsch
After proving his mettle in almost 70 episodes of NBC's Friday Night Lights, Taylor Kitsch
played the lead role in back-to-back bombs John Carter and Battleship.
But even before those flops, he had a shot at entering the X-Universe by playing Gambit
in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
That role didn't work out much better for Kitsch than John Carter did, but he's shown
that, with a capable director, he can hold his own on the silver screen.
And besides, we've already seen Chris Evans successfully hop from one Marvel superhero
to another, while Ryan Reynolds redeemed himself by taking another crack at Deadpool.
After those two superhero successes, Kitsch getting the claws might not be as crazy as
it sounds.
Ryan Kwanten
Given the amount of success that came with an Australian in the role last time, it couldn't
hurt to consider another Ozzie this time around.
The former True Blood star Ryan Kwanten could definitely fit the bill.
He's done his fair share of action films, including Blunt Force Trauma and Northmen:
A Viking Saga.
If he seems like a left-field choice, well, just consider how much you knew about Hugh
Jackman before the first X-Men film.
Exactly.
Jared Padalecki
There's no way The CW is going to keep Supernatural going much longer, which means that Sam Winchester's
Jared Padalecki is going to be out of a job at some point in the relatively near future.
He's proven that he can battle back against the forces of evil on repeated occasions,
so he's already got that aspect of the character down.
If he can just get past all those years of working alongside Jensen Ackles and get in
the habit of playing a lone wolf, he'll be perfect.
Aidan Turner
He's played a vampire on Being Human, a dwarf in The Hobbit, and since then he's been busy
as the title character on PBS's Poldark, but Aidan Turner hasn't yet had the chance to
play a superhero.
He has, however, received acclaim for his performances in all three of those projects,
so why not give him a chance to brandish a set of adamantium claws and really go for
broke?
Alex O'Loughlin
Okay, we know Alex O'Loughlin is a little bit older than the other options, but there's
nothing that says that he can't play Wolverine into his fifties.
He's done the vampire thing on Moonlight, and he's been playing a cop for many seasons
now on CBS's Hawaii Five-0 reboot, so we know he can be dark, brooding, and play the bad
cop when the need arises.
William Levy
Although Cuban-American actor William Levy is better known for his work in telenovelas
and his stint on Dancing with the Stars than he is action films, 2016 saw him show up in
two such films — Term Life and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter — and he's also
been cast in Brent Ryan Green's post-apocalyptic flick The Veil.
As long as he keeps up this kind of work, he's got a good shot at being considered for
the role.
Joe Manganiello
Joe Manganiello just turned 40, but he's still got the look, the swagger, and the requisite
sense of humor to kick ass as Wolverine.
Manganiello is a veteran of the sci-fi/fantasy genre after his years on True Blood, and if
you've never seen that, you'll probably recognize him best as this guy from the original Spider-Man.
Plus, he's been cast as Deathstroke in The Batman.
Could there be a more perfect candidate?
Scott Eastwood
Given how easy it would've been to imagine his dad Clint stepping into the role of Old
Man Logan a couple of years ago, the father-son resemblance between the two makes it pretty
easy to picture Scott Eastwood popping out a pair of claws and giving super villains
the business.
He's also been known to chomp on a cigar on occasion, which puts him even closer to Logan
territory without even trying.
Daniel Radcliffe
Okay, stick with us here, but Harry Potter might actually be a viable possibility to
play Logan.
"Oh God, I've still got these on?
I don't need these.
They're just for the character."
No, seriously!
Some people might be skeptical even now, but he's been working out and expanding his range,
and with films like Horns and Imperium, it's no longer out of the realm of possibility
that he could plausibly play a badass.
Yeah, okay, maybe he's a little skinny for the role, but he's clearly capable of growing
the requisite facial hair, and given that there's photographic evidence that he has
at least some muscles, it isn't hard to picture him bulking up even further if the opportunity
presented itself.
And before you dismiss any of these possibilities, just remember: before he became Wolverine,
Hugh Jackman was best known for his work in musicals as a song and dance kinda guy.
Not only that, but Wolverine has always been known as a short character, but Jackman is
pretty dang tall at six-foot-two.
Don't count anyone out when it comes to searching for the new Wolverine, okay?
Even Harry Potter!
After all, if Radcliffe could pull off this look, why not Wolverine?
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