Is Hugh Jackman going to be in the 'Deadpool' movie?

'Deadpool' actor Ryan Reynolds recently said in an interview that 'it seems like [Jackman] is open to' appearing in the film. Movie executives would most likely like to see Jackman in the film as introducing new characters with old ones has been a successful move for various superhero films.

Will moviegoers see a familiar face on the movie screen when they go see the upcoming superhero movie “Deadpool”?

In a recent interview, actor Ryan Reynolds, who is starring in “Deadpool” as the Marvel character, said that “X-Men” actor Hugh Jackman might pop up in the movie. Jackman has portrayed Wolverine in multiple “X-Men” movies (and the two already shared the screen as these characters in the 2009 movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” which was not a critical success).

“It seems like he’s open to it,” Reynolds said of Jackman possibly being involved in the film in an interview with the website news.com.au. “But it’s going to be more of a scheduling issue than anything else.”

Movie executives would most likely love to see Jackman appear in the movie. Marvel Studios, for one, has built a highly lucrative business through a careful method of introducing characters, as has the “X-Men” franchise of which Jackman is a part. Marvel began its current “Avengers” team with the 2008 movie “Iron Man,” which starred Robert Downey Jr. as the superhero. They then introduced the public to the other “Avengers” team members through individual movies, including “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “Thor.” By the time 2012’s “The Avengers” rolled around, moviegoers who wouldn’t have known these characters beforehand were thoroughly versed in who the villain Loki was and why Cap had come back from the 1940s.

Similarly, the casual movie fan probably doesn’t know right now who Deadpool is. (For the uninitiated, Deadpool, alias Wade Wilson, is a skilled fighter and is able to heal himself.) Those who aren’t familiar with the superhero may be more willing to go see the movie if they know Wolverine, who has appeared in multiple successful “X-Men” movies, will be there.

The “X-Men” franchise has also mostly proved the success of the strategy of bringing in old favorites while introducing new ones. The first “X-Men” movie, which was released in 2000, introduced such core characters as Wolverine, Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart), and the villain Magneto (Ian McKellan). Later installments like “X2” and “X-Men: The Last Stand” brought in new characters like Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page in later installments), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), and Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), though some of these character introductions have been more successful than others.