How Jerry Seinfeld Convinced Hugh Jackman to Quit Playing Wolverine

Hugh Jackman has played Wolverine in the X-Men movies for more than 15 years, ever since he was cast in the original X-Men that was released in 2000. He’s popped those claws through the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy, and, as of Logan, a trilogy of Wolverine solo films.

After Logan, Jackman will hang up his claws and retire as Wolverine. Jackman was a guest on an episode of The Late Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, and Fallon questioned Jackman about how he made that decision. Jackman blamed it on comedy icon Jerry Seinfeld.

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“I was just chatting with him about, ‘Why did you finish after that eighth or ninth season? What was the point? What was the tipping point?” Jackman recalled. “And he was very clear. He said, ‘Look, when you’re creating something it’s very important not to run yourself dry. It’s not about finishing on top, necessarily, but making sure you’re, creatively, still got something left, which propels you into the whatever’s next.’

“As he was talking to me, I went home and said, ‘Deb, this is it. This is the last one,’” Jackman continued. “And then, like, the next morning, I wake up at four in the morning and I record into a voice memo because I had this really strong idea of what to do for the next one, and that’s like two years ago or something.”

As Jackman goes on to explain, that idea became the seed for Logan. He didn’t expect 20th Century fox to actually go through with the idea, but they did and writer/director James Mangold turned Jackman’s idea into Logan.

With less than a week left until Logan hits theaters, the film has a 4.28 out of 5 ComicBook.com user anticipating rating, making it the third most anticipated upcoming comic book movie among ComicBook.com readers. Let us know if you’re looking forward to Logan by giving it your own anticipation rating.

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Logan takes place in the year 2029, where mutant births have become extremely rare. The defenders of mutant kind, the X-Men, are long gone, and the only remains of them are an old and struggling Charles Xavier and a weary Logan. Logan’s vaunted healing factor has slowed, and at times doesn’t seem to work at all. When a young mutant needs his help, Logan has to unsheathe his claws once more. His job isn’t over yet.

Logan stars Hugh Jackman (Logan), Boyd Holbrook (Donald Pierce), Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier), Dafne Keen (Laura Kinney/X-23), Doris Morgado (Maria), Stephen Merchant (Caliban), Elizabeth Rodriguez (Gabriela), and Richard E. Grant (Dr. Zander Rice). James Mangold is directing and helped on the screenplay along with Scott Frank and Michael Green.

Logan hits theaters on March 3, 2017.