One Key X-Men Character is Holding Back the MCU’s New Version of the Iconic Mutants

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Hugh Jackman’s run as Wolverine is one of the most impressive, not just in comic book movies, but in film history. Jackman debuted as the iconic X-Men character back in 2000 and returned to play Wolverine in 2024 for his 10th appearance as the character. 2024’s Deadpool and Wolverine was also the most successful film Jackman had been a part of, and it seems his time as the X-Men will continue for a few more years. A key reason why Deadpool & Wolverine was so successful was due to Marvel Studios’ involvement, which intertwined the 20th Century Fox X-Men films with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Despite a film involving mutants now part of the MCU, it’s still unclear where Marvel Studios is going with the sleeping giant that is the X-Men franchise. All that’s known so far is that Marvel Studios hired Michael Lesslie to write an X-Men film. Fox’s X-Men franchise had a good run that Deadpool and Wolverine celebrated. However, it’s time for Marvel Studios to reboot the X-Men within the MCU properly, and that means saying goodbye to Jackman’s Wolverine once and for all.

Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine Already Has the Perfect Ending

By making Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine part of the MCU, it makes it hard for Marvel Studios to deliver a proper send-off that can come close to Logan.

Deadpool and Wolverine wasted no time addressing Logan in the film; the harder trick will be to conclude his story when the bar has already been set so high.

Before Jackman appeared in the MCU, the actor already said goodbye to the character with Logan, one of the best comic book movies of all time. Deadpool and Wolverine did a nice job honoring Logan by addressing it head-on right from the start and making Jackman’s Wolverine a variant. Yet, if Jackman’s Wolverine continues, his story will need to end eventually. Marvel Studios has a few send-offs part of the MCU, but it knocked it out of the park with Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame.

For Jackman’s Wolverine, it’s a weird situation because he already received a perfect send-off and it will be hard for Marvel Studios to come close to what Logan achieved. Now that Jackman is firmly part of the MCU, it’s also going to be tricky to give him any closure. The only way this might be possible is if other X-Men stars of the past join him in Avengers: Secret Wars and Marvel Studios commits to a full restart afterward.

Hugh Jackman in Deadpool & WolverineUnderwhelmed

Jackman has always turned in a strong performance as Wolverine in the X-Men and solo projects he has appeared in. He also puts so much dedication into his physical appearance in the process, an impressive feat given his age. In Deadpool and Wolverine, Jackman wasn’t bad by any stretch, but his arc and portrayal were a bit too similar to what had come before in Logan, which remains his best performance as the character. While the Wolverine in the MCU film isn’t the same, he’s still dealing with similar trauma as he did in Logan with the X-Men no more.

The circumstances might’ve been slightly different, but it wasn’t enough to warrant a return. Sure, Jackman finally wore the yellow comic book Wolverine suit that he somehow didn’t wear previously, but he only wore the mask for a couple of scenes in the movie, and when he did, it didn’t quite look as good as many hoped. It was fun to see Deadpool and Wolverine together on the big screen, but their dynamic was still underwhelming, in part because Jackman’s Logan was going through a similar arc that just made him the same bitter man he was previously. Jackman has played Wolverine so much that it’s become more difficult to breathe new life into him. When you strip away Jackman’s Wolverine interacting with MCU characters and wearing comic book-accurate suits, there’s not much else that can surprise the audience.

It Doesn’t Make Sense for Him To Appear After the Multiverse Saga

It’s been rumored Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine will return in the next Avengers films.

Most of the major comic book characters like Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman have been recast numerous times over the years, and it’s time for Wolverine to join that company.

The Multiverse Saga has been a cool celebration of the Marvel franchise that existed before the MCU, with Jackman being one of the key returns. Since the MCU is still in its Multiverse Saga era, it makes sense for Jackman to be part of the next Avengers films. However, it doesn’t make much sense for him to continue past that. The MCU will need to eventually move on from the past and reboot the X-Men as Marvel Studios continues to pull from the Fox era of the franchise. Continuing to use Jackman’s Wolverine will only make it harder for whoever steps into the role next.

“Well, it’s that phrase we often use at Marvel, which is ‘It’s an embarrassment of riches. And there are a lot of great X-Men characters in the Deadpool & Wolverine film. There are a lot of great X-Men characters in all of the Fox versions of the X-Men films. And there are a lot of great X-Men characters that have never gone on the big screen. So I think, as we always try to do, as we did when we made the arrangement with Sony for Spider-Man, you’ll probably see a mix of characters you’ve seen before and characters you’ve never seen before.” — Kevin Feige on Marvel Studios’ plan for the X-Men in the MCU.

So many iconic superhero roles have been recast to great success, and there’s no reason why Wolverine couldn’t become the next in a proper reboot of the X-Men for the MCU. Going with a new actor as Wolverine post-Multiverse Saga will give the character a breath of fresh air and keeping Jackman around will only overshadow it. Since Marvel Studios told another story with a depressed Wolverine, the need for a reboot with the character has become more evident than ever. A new actor in the role of Wolverine gives Marvel Studios more creative freedom and the chance to make a longer-term commitment than Jackman at this point. Jackman deserved a chance to become part of the MCU and interact with other Marvel heroes, but there won’t be much left for him to do once the Multiverse Saga wraps up. It will likely be a long time before another actor surpasses the iconic run Jackman has had with Wolverine, but the character is still bigger than the actor in the end.

Jackman deserves to be one of the most celebrated actors in the superhero genre for what he’s done as Wolverine. He finally got the chance to play the X-Men character in the MCU and will likely play him again in an upcoming Avengers film. However, rumors suggesting he could play the character for another decade feel like a major mistake based on where Marvel Studios should take the X-Men next. 20th Century Fox already soft-rebooted the X-Men franchise with First Class, but it’s time to wipe the slate clean completely.

Wolverine might not need to be part of the upcoming X-Men film from Marvel Studios when it comes, but when the character eventually becomes part of it, a new actor should be in the yellow suit. Deadpool and Wolverine proved a new take on Wolverine is long overdue since Jackman has been playing the character for over 20 years. For Marvel Studios’ X-Men reboot to be worthwhile, it needs to move on from Jackman’s Wolverine and chart a new path for all the mutants.

“}]] Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is now part of the MCU, but a major role in the franchise’s future could hurt it.  Read More