Why Hugh Jackman Never Wore Wolverine’s Famous Costume
Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine has to be one of the best portrayals of a comic-book character that Hollywood’s ever produced. The movies he appeared in weren’t always great — okay, they weren’t always mediocre — but Jackman was always incredibly committed to the role, bringing huge intensity and even larger muscles to scene after scene. With his weird hair and berserker rages, Wolverine could have looked very silly onscreen. Thanks to Jackman, he never did.
For all the things Jackman did as Logan, there’s one thing fans still get upset about: He never wore anything remotely resembling Wolverine’s classic costume onscreen. In the main X-Men franchises, his costume was always some variation of black leather or armor, with a couple of big ’x’s on the chest. In the Wolverine solo movies, he barely put on a costume at all. He was just a really angry, hairy dude with claws.
The closest Jackman ever came to donning Wolverine’s signature outfit came in a deleted scene from The Wolverine, which would have seen Jackman handed a briefcase containing his comic-book costume. This deleted scene has appeared on home video, and some stills of the suit have popped up online. But no one’s ever produced a single image of Jackman in the costume — which has left X-Men lovers wondering whether they will ever see a shot like that.
According to The Wolverine and Logan director James Mangold, the answer is definitively no — because no such image exists. During a Quarantine Watch Party for Logan, Mangold answered a fan question about the suit, explaining that Jackman “never put it on” because everything about Logan as he understands the character “would keep him from donning a self promoting ‘uniform.’”
But take heart, Wolverine fans. Mangold thinks it’s only a matter of time before we see someone in that suit. “I’m sure the next incarnation of the Wolverine will go there,” Mangold noted. He’s almost certainly right. That incarnation won’t be Jackman, though.
Here’s the deleted scene featuring the Wolverine suit:
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