Hugh Jackman’s frenemy dynamic with Ryan Reynolds will bleed into ‘Deadpool 3’: ‘They hate each other’

By Dan Heching, CNN

Hugh Jackman is sharing details on how his best-known character, grisly mutant X-Man Wolverine, will interact with Ryan Reynolds’s wisecracking Deadpool in the upcoming “Deadpool 3.”

In a recent Empire Film podcast, Jackman said the two characters are a “zero” in terms of compatibility, calling them “opposites” and saying that they “hate each other” — all of which will make for some really good odd-couple type humor in the movie.

“He’s annoyed by him,” he said on the podcast. “[Wolverine is] frustrated by [Deadpool and] wants to be a million miles away from him or wants to punch him in the head. Unfortunately, he can’t be a million miles away from him in this movie, so I’m probably going to punch him in the head a lot.”

The dynamic also mirrors Jackman’s interactions with Reynolds offscreen, as the friends share a long-running gag of pretending to dislike each other on social media, often mocking or ridiculing one another for a laugh.

Jackman has (astonishingly) been portraying Wolverine, also known as Logan, since the year 2000, when the first “X-Men” movie came out.

He has donned the adamantium claws almost a dozen times since, even helping to introduce Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson (in an early and unsuccessful iteration) in 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.”

The “Son” actor’s last go-round as Wolverine came in 2017’s well-received “Logan,” which wrapped up the character’s storyline in a neat and according to him, “perfect” way, nabbing an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay in the process.

Jackman made it clear in the podcast that the new film takes place firmly before the events of “Logan,” so that it won’t change that movie’s timeline for the fan-favorite character.

He had previously said that “Logan” would be his last time playing Wolverine, which of course is no longer the case. In the podcast, he was actually able to pinpoint the exact date this summer when he had a change of heart.

“It was August 14th, I remember driving, and it came to me like that, I just thought, this is going to be so much fun. I’ll probably have more fun on that movie than anything I’ve ever done,” he said.

Even still, Jackman said the process for training to become Wolverine — a character he identifies as being farthest from who he really is as a person — gets harder every time, but that this time around, he has some extra motivation.

“I just get the added incentive of taking Ryan Reynolds out every day. So I really want to be in good shape for that, so I can enjoy it!”

“Deadpool 3” is due in theaters in November of 2024.

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