Hugh Jackman Has A Perfect New Superhero Role, See The First Look
Hugh Jackman lends his voice to Hulu original Koala Man, a satirical superhero cartoon with Justin Roiland, creator of Rick and Morty, as executive producer.
Hugh Jackman became an international star bringing the Canadian mutant Wolverine to life in Fox’s X-Men films, but now, in a post-Logan world, the Australian hunk has a new role, shared by the star on his Twitter account, in Koala Man. From the mind of Michael Cusack (Smiling Friends), who also voices Kevin, the mild-mannered father that adopts the identity of Koala Man to protect his Australian suburb, Koala Man is an upcoming Hulu original, clearly cut from the same cloth as Rick and Morty. Jackman may not be the lead role, but that’s just part of the process of stepping aside from active duty as a superhero, as he’s voicing Big Greg, Kevin’s boss and Koala Man’s not quite sidekick.
If the animation and general tone do seem similar to Rick and Morty, it’s because Justin Roiland, co-creator of the Adult Swim smash hit, is an executive producer on Koala Man, alongside Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, the writers of Detective Pikachu. Joining Hugh Jackman and Cusack in the voice cast are Sarah Snook (Succession), Natalie Tran (Significant Others), and Demi Lardner (Drunk History: Australia). In addition, guest stars during the eight episode first season include Alexandra Daddario and Hugo Weaving.
The hilarious first trailer includes one Wolverine shout-out, and also a very disturbing line from Hugh Jackman’s Big Greg involving his cameraman and a parasite. Considering the comedic minds working on the show, the initial suburban setting will likely get very absurd, and very crazy, very quickly. Hopefully Jackman is able to pull off acting as the straight man opposite a slightly insane superhero in increasingly bizarre situations, considering the upcoming Deadpool 3.
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are great friends, and their feud over social media has been the source of some amazing moments between the two stars. Reynolds made sure to poke fun at Wolverine in his Deadpool movies, and now the Best There Is At What He Does will, thanks to some time travel or multiverse shenanigans, appear in the next film. If Koala Man turns out to be a success, maybe the Vancouver native can return the favor and lend his manic voice to the animated Australia?
Michael Cusack and Justin Roiland have worked together previously, on the recently released video game High on Life, the debut game from Roiland’s own video game studio, Squanch Games. Cusack voiced Knifey, a melee weapon that questions his purpose in life if the character doesn’t move enough, among other sardonic observations. Hugh Jackman has always seemed game for almost anything, and who knows what horrible things may happen to Big Greg from one of the minds behind the Cronenberg Dimension?
Hugh Jackman has previously lent his voice to The Simpsons, Big Mouth, Rise of the Guardians, and Human Resources. Koala Man debuts January 9th on Hulu, but after that, it would appear that the musically talented actor has nothing else set for release in 2023. Honestly, no matter what Jackman is up to next, all fans are waiting on is Deadpool 3 for the chance to catch Wolverine and Deadpool on screen together, which will also be the MCU debut for the most popular X-Man.
