Aside from the fact that Hugh Jackman seems convinced it will be his final time wielding the claws and that The Wolverine’s James Mangold is developing the script alongside Michael Green with an eye to direct, not much is known about the next film featuring everyone’s favourite hairy mutant. But Jackman, sitting down with Collider to discuss Pan, has shed a little light on the subject.
According to the actor, the script is still in progress, and will, as has been reported before, feature Patrick Stewart returning as Professor Charles Xavier. “I’ll be really honest with you, the actual script in its full form we’re up to about Page 60. Obviously there’s a treatment, so it’s not fully done yet, we’re not fully there," says Jackman. "Patrick does figure in it that’s for sure. I think it’s a really important relationship but I want to see signs of that quasi-father/son sort of relationship that has not been seen before, and sides of particularly Professor X that have not been seen before. So we have some really, really cool ideas.”
But while Jackman is obviously excited to explore this facet of Wolverine’s personality, he is waiting to see how the script turns out: “I’m sounding a little cagey because this is the last time I’m playing him, and I have just made the commitment to myself, really, and told everyone that until that script is perfect, until it is that perfect way to sign out, I’m not gonna start shooting. So that’s why I don’t wanna say ‘Yes’ for sure, because until Page 115, 120, whatever it is…”
Still, despite his hesitation, he does seem more than ready to push ahead once he’s happy. “The ultimate plan is let’s start shooting next year," continues the actor. "I’m starting the training, I’m starting the eating and mentally really preparing for it. It’s not just me, the studio as well – I’m trying to do something with this that’s a little special, a little different. I’ve got a very, very strong idea of what that is. I really have known for quite a long time how I want to finish this sort of odyssey that I’ve been on, this amazing journey. And I won’t let it fall anywhere in between. I won’t fall short of it. I feel that I’m pushing harder than I’ve ever pushed before. I suppose the stakes just go up when you announce before your last season that this is your last season, you don’t want one game to not be your best… People ask me, ‘How are you gonna be able to let it go?’ To me the only way you can let it go is if you left blood every day on the studio floor.” Health and safety will not be happy about that. For more from Jackman, head to Collider.
The as-yet-untitled film currently has a release date of March 2, 2017.