Wolverine Not Being Part of the Rebooted X-Men Is a Good Thing

Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine has been an integral part of the X-Men movies ever since his first debut in X-Men in 2000. With Wolverine being reintroduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Deadpool 3, the character is set to make a tremendous impression yet again on fans. In addition to an ongoing rumor that he will play an important role in Avengers: Secret Wars, it is clear that the character is as influential as ever. However, there is another rumor that states that Wolverine will not be part of the MCU’s reboot of the X-Men. Although fans will most likely be disappointed should this be the case, Wolverine not being a part of the MCU’s X-Men could be a good thing.

Despite Logan being a significant character in Fox’s X-Men movies, the main focus has usually been on him. As such, the stories and personalities of other equally important characters, such as Storm, Jean Grey, and Cyclops, were never truly explored. Movies like X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Apocalypse, and X-Men: Dark Phoenix barely scratched the surface regarding many other characters, even less so of the original X-Men — Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, Angel, and Iceman, respectively. Marvel Studios is now reportedly pitching ideas for a rebooted movie, and it would be beneficial for both audiences and the cinematic franchise to focus on the other fascinating members of the team finally.

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Fox’s Wolverine Is the X-Men’s Most Important Character

Much of Wolverine’s appeal can be attributed to Hugh Jackman’s charisma and the character’s complexity and history from the comics. Wolverine’s story and character development was one of the most prominent storylines in Fox’s X-Men franchise. First introduced as a cage fighter with no recollection of his past life, he would eventually meet the X-Men and become an important asset in fighting their enemies. In addition to driving the main storyline in the X-Men movies, he was often portrayed as a father figure to Rogue and a love interest to Jean Grey.

In X-Men: Days of Future Past, Logan succeeded in preventing the creation of the Sentinels, robots that were tasked to eradicate the mutant population in the future. The plot of the movie is heavily surrounded around him and his efforts to unite the past X-Men in order to prevent Bolivar Trasks’ assassination by Mystique. The last time fans got to see Wolverine was in Logan in 2017, which at the time was considered to be Hugh Jackman’s swan song for the character. The movie ended with him being killed by X-24 and being buried by his daughter Laura. After being in 9 out of the 11 X-Men films, Wolverine’s appearance in future Marvel productions seemed unlikely. However, fans rejoiced once it was announced that Hugh Jackman will reprise his role in Deadpool 3, as well as being rumored to play an important part in the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars movie, set to be released in 2027.

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Avengers: Secret Wars is rumored to feature a team of multiversal heroes from previous Marvel franchises – such as Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Whether or not this is true is yet to be seen, but fans can count on seeing Wolverine in the future. With the WGA strike in Hollywood coming to an end, Marvel Studios is also reportedly in talks on how to officially introduce the X-Men in the MCU. Although it is still unclear how this will be done, rumor has it that Wolverine will not be a part of the rebooted X-Men team after Secret Wars. Some fans will likely become upset by this turn of events, but this can provide an opportunity for other X-Men to have their time in the spotlight.

Since the previous X-Men movies were Wolverine-oriented, there were many characters whose backstories and narratives were never truly explored. For instance, Storm’s time as a Kenyan goddess was never addressed in the movies, nor was Cyclops’ natural affinity as a leader, nor was Jean Grey’s personality properly seen — other than being a love interest to Cyclops and Logan, that is. These are but a few characters whose story arcs are never developed, only hinted at. As such, the X-Men were always drawn to Wolverine’s arc. This was not necessarily a bad thing. But now the X-Men are given a second chance to be properly established in the MCU. It is important for most of them to share their own stories so the audience can see how influential these characters are, much like Wolverine.

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Wolverine Not Being Rebooted Brings Justice to His Legacy

It is difficult to imagine how the X-Men will fare without their most popular character. Nevertheless, it is for the best that Wolverine will not be rebooted in the MCU. In the span of 23 years, fans got to cherish and witness Logan’s character development. They saw him filled with grief after losing many of his loved ones, but they have also seen him grow as a person. Logan gave a perfect ending to his character, showing that he has finally understood the importance of loving and being loved. Despite him being a tragic character, Wolverine is a symbol of resilience and perseverance. Allowing him to finally stay out of the action is to show how well-developed and well-written his character is.

The MCU should use Wolverine as a template for properly writing the rest of the X-Men. There is no better way to say farewell to such an important character than to adopt a similar approach for his fellow teammates. The MCU has proved on many occasions that it does justice to its main characters, giving them the opportunity to prove themselves to the audience. On this account, Fox succeeded in molding a character to be as popular as Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. To further exploit him would only lead to damaging his story arc. Marvel Studios would be doing him a disservice should it decide to continuously focus on him, which would eventually lead to his overuse.

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The X-Men is one of the most powerful and intriguing teams Marvel has ever created. Their story is rich and perennial. As a whole, they represent how racism, social inequality, and prejudice can affect social minorities. And while the MCU should continue to talk about these issues as Fox did, it should also give the chance for a plethora of characters to have their time to shine. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is undoubtedly one of the most loved and admired characters in any cinematic franchise. It would only be fair for other X-Men to have the same treatment in the future. Although many fans will still be sad to see him go, they should look forward to seeing countless other stories and characters in the upcoming X-Men era.

Whether or not the rumor of Wolverine not being part of the MCU is true, it does not mean that the character’s influence will be diminished in any way. Either in Deadpool 3 or in Avengers: Secret Wars, Wolverine still has time to make a lasting impact on the MCU. At the end of the day, he is the perfect mutant to smoothly introduce the X-Men in the main Marvel continuity. Fans can count on the fact that Hugh Jackman will make his last appearances as Wolverine memorable, enjoyable, and above all else, impactful.