It Looks Like We Can Blame Jerry Seinfeld For Hugh Jackman Hanging Up His Wolverine Claws

Marvel fans were disappointed when they heard about the news Hugh Jackman was not going to reprise his Wolverine role after the as yet untitled third Wolverine installment, which is slated for theater release in 2017. It now seems there is someone other than Hugh Jackman to blame for this – namely, Jerry Seinfeld.

While being interviewed on Live with Kelly and Michael on Tuesday, Jackman announced why Jerry Seinfeld was the inspiration behind giving up his Wolverine role.

“I was having a chat with him about a year ago at his birthday and he was talking about why he finished the end of [Seinfeld] and how it was riding high. And he said he just always had this feeling or belief that you never know when either your energy or the audience’s energy is going to dip over and people are like, ‘Please! Go!'”

Jerry Seinfeld starred in the much loved television series, Seinfeld which ran from 1989 through to 1998. Back then, fans were disappointed to see the demise of Seinfeld, but this interview with Hugh Jackman at least explains the reasoning behind why Jerry Seinfeld cancelled the show when it was on such a high.

While Seinfeld ran for nine years, Hugh Jackman has been Wolverine for 17 years now and that is a tough call for a role that is so physically demanding. Even though Jackman has been Wolverine for so long, fans could argue that the role, while physically challenging, is not as substantial as a TV series like Seinfeld that records regularly over the course of many months every year. After all, while Jackman is Wolverine, and there have been a plethora of Marvel based movies over the last 17 years (57 in total since 1998 according to this IMDb list), Wolverine has only been in nine Marvel movies, with the rumored potential of also appearing in one extra, X-Men: Apocalypse. Of these nine movies, sometimes he has only made a small appearance in them. However, unlike Seinfeld, Wolverine is a role that demands Jackman be in peak physical condition. Hugh Jackman will be turning 47 this year, so where the characters in the Seinfeld series could have, potentially, gone on longer, for Jackman, he would have to now weigh up the chance of injury as he ages against the popularity of his role. And, as Jerry Seinfeld said, it is better to end on a high.

You can watch the video interview Hugh Jackman gave about Jerry Seinfeld’s advice below:

Are you sad to see Hugh Jackman giving up his Wolverine role, or was Jerry Seinfeld right? What was your favorite Seinfeld moment? Let us know by commenting below!

[Image credit: Twentieth Century Fox / Marvel]