While some fans may not be ready to admit it to themselves yet, Hugh Jackman will be delivering his last performance as the beloved mutant Logan in 20th Century Fox's Wolverine 3, which has been set for release on March 3, 2017. It has been rumored that Wolverine 3 will essentially close out the entire X-Men franchise, following Bryan Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse, but that hasn't been confirmed yet. Still, even if this rumor is true, 20th Century Fox will surely continue the franchise in some fashion, leading many fans to wonder who may replace Hugh Jackman as Logan. While promoting his new movie Pan, in theaters October 9, Hugh Jackman offered his choice for who he'd like to take over as Wolverine, during an interview with MTV.

"I haven't really given it a lot of thought, but I've been asked that question a lot, and I always said, 'I don't want to make it too easy on the studio to replace me.' I've still got one more to do, but I'm sure they're already talking about it. He's younger than me, for sure, I think Tom Hardy would be great."

It isn't known if 20th Century Fox is actually mulling over who may replace Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, especially since production won't begin on Wolverine 3 until early 2016. We still don't have any confirmed plot details for Wolverine 3 yet, but there have been rumors that X-Men Origins: Wolverine star Liev Schreiber may be reprising his role as Sabretooth. James Mangold is directing from a script by Michael Green.

Tom Hardy is no stranger to the superhero world, having played the villainous Bane in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, although he has yet to star in an adaptation of a Marvel comic book. We reported in August that the actor is attached to star in the DC Comics adaptation 100 Bullets, but it isn't known if he would even be interested in taking on the Wolverine role. Hugh Jackman was 32 years old when the first X-Men came out back in 2000. If in fact Tom Hardy does sign on at some point, the 38-year-old actor would be a bit older than his predecessor when taking over the role.

Hugh Jackman has starred in seven movies as Logan/Wolverine, 2000's X-Men, 2003's X2: X-Men United, 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, 2011's X-Men: First Class, 2013's The Wolverine and last year's X-Men: Days of Future Past. Hugh Jackman hasn't been confirmed for a role in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse yet, but the actor's cryptic conversation with Bryan Singer on the Comic-Con stage hinted that he may be coming aboard. Who do you think should play the next Wolverine? Let us know what you think, after checking out Hugh Jackman's video interview below.