Hugh Jackman confirms Wolverine 3 will be his last outing as the Marvel character

The Australian is giving up the iconic X-Men role

It’s official: after almost two decades playing the claw wielding mutant Wolverine, Hugh Jackman has announced he is hanging up his wolf suit.

He will be retire from the role, which he first took up nearly two decades ago, after completing the character's third as yet untitled solo movie.

Jackman made the announcement on American talk show The Dr. Oz Show, saying “This will be my last one.”

He added: “It just felt like it was the right time to do it. And let’s be honest, 17 years. I never thought in a million years it would last, so I’m so grateful to the fans for the opportunity of playing it.

“I kind of have in my head what we’re going to do in this last one. It just feels like this is the perfect way to go out.”

The 46-year-old Australian actor previously hinted that he would seize to be Wolverine in an Instagram post which said “WOLVERINE …ONE LAST TIME. HJ.”

Jackman has previously played the angry adamantium-filled superhero seven times, his first appearance being in 2000’s X-Men.

The next instalment in the franchise will be X-Men Apocalypse, however, Jackman is not yet confirmed to be in that movie.

The release date for the untitled third Wolverine installment is 2017.