Expectations are high for Hugh Jackman’s final performance as Wolverine. The man has played the iconic mutant seven times, with an eighth on the way, and the ninth, and last, currently in the planning stages. They’re still in the midst of developing the script, so not much is known about what the final film will entail, but we do know Patrick Stewart will appear as Professor X, and now we know in what capacity. According to Jackman, the father/son relationship between Wolverine and Charles Xavier is a big part of what the film is about.
Speaking with Collider, Jackman opened up about the things he wanted to see in his last film that had not been dealt with before. He said:
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.
Professor X is a father figure to all the X-Men, that is his primary role, but as far the films go, Wolverine has always been the main focus. The first X-Men film deals with Wolverine’s introduction to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and Professor X teaching him that he doesn’t have to lead a solitary life. It makes sense, as a way to bookend the story, to bring everything back to that relationship.
It’s also nice to know that Stewart will get some time to really shine in the film. While he was a significant part of the original X-Men trilogy, he has always been part of an increasingly large ensemble. In a Wolverine film, where the expected number of mutants will be much smaller, Stewart has an opportunity to put together his own great performance. While the star of Blunt Talk hasn’t said anything about leaving the role behind, we have to believe he’ll want to hang it up at some point.
We also have the added benefit of the First Class films, which will be a completed trilogy by the time Wolverine 3 comes out. Those movies have fleshed out Charles Xavier as a character, though mostly without Patrick Stewart. Building on the complete X-Men franchise, there are no two characters we know more about that Professor X and Wolverine. Days of Future Past even included a bit of role reversal, where Wolverine was able to act as the inspiration to Charles. It only makes sense that the film that will wrap up a large part of the franchise will focus on those two characters.
This certainly makes us even more excited for the last Wolverine movie than we were. The second film was a vast improvement over the first, and if the third can be that much better again, we’re in for a cinematic treat.
