Hugh Jackman Wants To Explore Logan's Father/Son Relationship With Professor X in WOLVERINE 3

Hugh Jackman is suiting up as Wolverine one final time for the still-untitled Wolverine 3, and he's offered up some new details about what his last film as a member of the X-Men will feature — namely, a further exploration of the relationship with the group's leader, Professor Xavier, as played by Patrick Stewart. In a new interview with Collider, Jackman said:

“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. 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.”

More Professor X? Sounds great to me. Stewart is awesome in that role, and his relationship with Logan has been one of the best parts about the X-Men franchise so far.

Since this is the last time he'll be playing the character, Jackman is very serious about making sure everything is where it should be story-wise before they start shooting, though.

“I’m saying ‘but’ and 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…”

“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.”

So when does he think they're actually going to get underway with production? He and director James Mangold are still aiming for a 2016 start date:

“The ultimate plan is let’s start shooting next year… 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 enjoyed The Wolverine up until it sort of crapped the bed at the very end, and I love how Jackman is taking great pains to make sure that he gives his version of this character a great send-off this time. He's as big a fan of the characters as the audience, so he wants to do right by Wolverine and make sure he goes out on top.