Hugh Jackman Dodged A 'Cats'-Shaped Bullet; Rules Out Playing Wolverine Again For The 100th Time

Hey, did you know Hugh Jackman will never play Wolverine again? He's only said so about a billion times, but someone decided to ask him the question again, and since he's a nice guy, he answered. But Wolverine isn't the only part Jackman is turning down. The actor (and singer) revealed that he was offered multiple roles in Tom Hooper's nightmarish flop Cats, and said thanks, but no thanks.

Hugh Jackman, the Greatest Showman himself, took some time to speak with The Daily Beast recently, and the subject of Cats came up. Jackman previously appeared in the film adaptation of Les Misérables, which was helmed by Cats director Tom Hooper. Jackman was asked flat-out if he turned down a role in Cats, and Jackman gave a reply that's pretty funny in its tact and simplicity: "Umm... yep."

When asked to elaborate as to which cat Jackman would've played – Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat, perhaps? – the actor replied:

"You know, Tom rang me early on because we did Les Mis together, and there were a couple of options there based on availability and time, and I really... yeah, I just wasn't available at the time."

The interviewer pushed on, attempting to get Jackman to bad-mouth the film, but Jackman wasn't taking the bait. "I'm in the theater, man, and I don't want to be in the business of bashing people—or jumping on bandwagons," he said. "I haven't seen it, and Tom Hooper's one of the great filmmakers we have."

I don't agree with Jackman that Hooper is one of the "great filmmakers," but I commend Jackman for being such a nice guy about this whole thing. During the same interview, the inevitable subject of Wolverine came up. Jackman played the iconic character for 17 years, capping things off with the fantastic Logan. Ever since then, Jackman has been asked if he'd ever return to the role – in a Deadpool sequel cameo, perhaps, or maybe in the MCU, now that Fox has been folded into Disney. And time and time again, Jackman has replied in the negative, saying that Logan was truly his swan-song as the character.

But sure enough, anytime Jackman gives a new interview, he's doomed to be asked this question again. And once again, he said no. The actor stated that if the Fox/Disney merger had happened "seven years ago" he would've been game to join the MCU, but that ship has sailed:

"I knew it was the right time for me to leave the party—not just for me, but for the character. Somebody else will pick it up and run with it. It's too good of a character not to. It's kind of like, you're on your way home and your friend rings you and goes, Oh, dude, a new DJ just came on and the music is awesome, are you going to come back? And you say, Sounds good but... no. They're fine with someone else."

And there you have it. Remember to check back in a few months from now, when someone asks Jackman this Wolverine question again, and he once again gives the same answer.