'Tom Hardy is Wolverine after me' Hugh Jackman names his successor

Tom Hardy Wolverine fan art

 TOM HARDY will play Wolverine after Hugh Jackman steps down from his iconic X-Men role, if the Aussie Pan actor gets his wish for the Brit Legend and Mad Max star.

Jackman made his bold declaration as he prepareds to step down after playing Wolverine since his debut in 2000's X-Men.

Fans have already been voicing their support for the British actor, who is current starring as the Kray twns in Legend.

They have also been quick to unleash their visons of the new casting.

Pick of the crop is this image below by Twitter user BossLogic.

"A little more effort on this one for the fans - Tom Hardy as #wolverine for @RealHughJackman #newWolverine," he wrote.

Jackman ignited a fan frenzy when he was asked recently who should replace him as the mutant hero.

"I’ve been asked the question a lot and I’m always like “I don’t want to make it too easy on the studio to replace me,'” he teased.

"I’ve still got one more to do."

But he was clear that only one name came to mind.

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine

 "I’m sure they’re already talking about it, that some actor out there they’ve already said, 'Shhhh… keep it quiet but we want you next.'

"He’s younger than me for sure, I think Tom Hardy would be a great Wolverine."

The British star may have a wealth of difficult choices ahead, since Hardy is also a hot favourite to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond.

After a critically acclaimed recent appearance as Mad Max in this year's Fury Road, the 38-year-old is already attracting early Oscar buzz for his remarkable performances in Legend

Tom Hardy as Wolverine

Hardy is actually only eight years younger than Jackman, however, and may have to wait a while yet for the role.

The Aussie star wil appear as the big-haired, self-healing chracter in X-Men: Apocalypse next year, before bidding farewell to the role in Wolverine 3 in 2017.

Some fans are already wondering if the studios will want to cast a much yonger successor, with another Brit, Jamie Bell, an early favourite.

Jackman, meanwhile, is currently thrilling cinema audiences worldwide with her mercurial performance as Blackbeard in Joe Wright's updating of the Peter Pan stories in Pan.