Hugh Jackman thinks there could be a crossover between Wolverine and the Avengers.

The star - who has played the X-Men character since 2000 - believes there is a chance that he could star as the superhero in an upcoming Marvel film after Sony and the comic book publishers signed a deal which saw Spider-Man become part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

When asked about a possible collaboration, he said: ''I would love it. That's the best thing about comic books; you can just pitch these characters into each other.

''I'm surprised by what's happened with Spider-Man joining. You're in a very complex world where big, big sums of money are being spent for different franchises and so getting them together is difficult.''

The 46-year-old actor admitted that if he had been asked two years ago, he would have found the prospect nearly impossible but has since changed his mind.

He added: ''Two years ago I'd have said you'd be a real optimist to think it'd ever happen but weirdly now I just think it maybe could.

''I think there is the possibility that it will happen.''

Meanwhile, Hugh has admitted he'd love to have Iron Man appear in a Wolverine sequel, but only if the part was still being played by Robert Downey Jr.

He told Yahoo! Movies: ''I can't think of (Robert) as anyone else. They are inseparable... I would love to do that.''