Hugh Jackman Says Wolverine Recasting Is Inevitable

Hugh Jackman believes that his days as Wolverine are numbered. In an interview with IGN, Jackman was asked if there was ever a discussion about having a younger actor play Wolverine in X-Men: First Class. He said:

I'm sure they had the discussion. They didn't mention it to me, obviously! [Laughs] Look, that's inevitable, man. Anyone who thinks they're indispensable in this business is fooling themselves. But I feel unbelievably blessed to have this part. I never thought in a million years I'd get to play him seven times. Every day I walk on the set with the claws and the hair, I thank my lucky stars. I don't take any of it for granted. To think that in a second version we'd have this cast and this director, and you guys don't know the script, but I would say probably the best script of all of them, is pretty amazing. I think that's why I'm still here. I'm sure by the way, that it won't always be my decision to always be here. At some point, someone will close the door on me… [Laughs]

Jackman has been playing Wolverine since the first X-Men movie in 2000, and returned to the role in both sequels, two solo spinoff films, and a cameo in X-Men: First Class. He will reprise the role again in X-Men: Days of Future Past. In X-Men Days of Future Past, the X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants. X-Men: Days of Future Past opens in theaters May 23, 2014.