Back in March, Hugh Jackman announced that he would be retiring from the role of Wolverine after his last few commitments. Though he’s rumored to have cameos in ‘Deadpool’ and ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’, the currently untitled 2017 sequel to ‘The Wolverine’ will definitely be it for the 46-year-old Australian actor as the X-Men’s resident Canucklehead. But even though we still have some time left with Jackman in the claws, the actor seems pretty confident that the studio is already looking for his replacement.

In a recent interview with The Huffington Post about his departure from Wolverine, Jackman commented on the surreal feelings he has towards putting the role that he will have played for nearly 20 years behind him. Before talking about all the new opportunities that have since opened up to him since he was cast as Logan, he had this to say about his last outing:

“Weirdly, I’m really excited about shooting it. I feel great enthusiasm. I suppose it’s denial — like the football player who announces their retirement before their last season — and so I’m really looking forward to it. But, I know its not over yet! I still got a lot of 4 o’clock mornings and a hell of a lot of egg white omelettes and steamed chicken to have, and all of that.

I feel very blessed that I loved playing this part. The last ‘Wolverine’ and that last ‘X-Men’ [‘Days of Future Past’] were maybe two of the best and I feel like, hopefully, we’ll do it again with this last one.”

Then, when asked about how 20th Century Fox and Marvel Entertainment took the news of his retirement, Jackman shared that they were okay with it. However, he knows how this business works:

“They were all really supportive — 17 years is a long time. And I’m sure that they’ve already started casting, you know? Someone may sign up for an 11-picture deal, as we speak.”

If Fox and Marvel do recast, it definitely wouldn’t be the first time that we’ve seen it happen in the X-Men cinematic universe. Since the franchise decided to focus on younger versions of their already established characters, we’ve seen a number of younger actors such as Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy, and Michael Fassbender step into the shoes of some of the most popular mutants there is. We’ll be seeing it once again when Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, and Alexandra Shipp take up the mantles of Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Storm in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’, so it’s not really a big deal. Regardless, it will still be weird to see anyone other than Hugh Jackman portray Wolverine on the big screen.

Who do you think should replace Hugh Jackman as Wolverine when his commitments to the X-Men franchise are completed? Will you be sad to see him hang up the claws? Let us know in the comments below.