Zac Efron Speaks Out on Wolverine Casting Rumors After Hugh Jackman's Return

Some exciting news came out of Marvel Studios this week when Ryan Reynolds announced the return of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in Deadpool 3. Many people have reacted to the news ranging from fans to director Kevin Smith, and it has left some wondering about the X-Men's future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The addition of the X-Men is inevitable, and there have been plenty of rumors about who could play Wolverine next. Big names like Taron Egerton and Daniel Radcliffe have been thrown around as well as Zac Efron. Efron recently appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to promote his new movie, The Greatest Beer Run Ever, and the subject of Wolverine came up.

Fallon brought up the fact that Marvel Studios was reportedly looking for a "Zac Efron type." Efron replied, "Really? Wow, they could just call me." This led to Fallon mentioning the casting rumors that Efron could be the next Wolverine, but Efron doesn't want to step on his The Greatest Showman co-star's toes. "I think Hugh's still doing that pretty well, I got to give it to him," Efron said. "I guess I had my foot in the door on that one, I should go talk to him." 

As for Jackman's return to the role, the actor took to Instagram yesterday to reveal he's training for Deadpool 3. "Work in progress," Jackman captioned the post. Jackman also shared that the decision to return as Wolverine in Deadpool 3 was his own. On TikTok, u/uncrazed caught up with the X-Men star to ask him how Reynolds convinced him to return to the role. Jackman quipped, "I make my own decisions, brother." However, Jackman has said many times in the past that he was done playing the part. 

Here's what Reynolds said during the big Deadpool 3 announcement: "Hey everyone, we're extremely sad to have missed D23 [the official Disney fan club expo], but we've been working very hard on the next Deadpool film for a good long while now," he began. "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. It's been an incredible challenge that has forced me to reach down deep inside. And I… I have nothing. Yeah, just completely empty up here. And terrifying. But we did have one idea. Hey, Hugh, you want to play Wolverine one more time?"

Deadpool 3 is scheduled to be released on September 6th, 2024. The Greatest Beer Run Ever is now playing in select theaters and streaming on Apple TV+.