Just when Hugh Jackman finally hangs up his Wolverine claws, we get news that Disney and Fox are all but ready to sign a deal that would give Marvel Studios full usage over the X-Men characters. It’s a scenario that Marvel fans have been dreaming for since the Marvel Cineamtic Universe began, and something that even Hugh Jackman himself has said that he’d be psyched for.
So now that a X-Men / Avengers crossover is a real possibility, would Hugh Jackman consider putting on the claws again? Here’s what the actor had to say to Collider, during the press junket for his new film, The Greatest Showman:
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“It’s interesting because for the whole 17 years I kept thinking that would be so great, like I would love to see, particularly, Iron Man and the Hulk and Wolverine together. And every time I saw an Avengers movie I could just see Wolverine in the middle of all of them like punching them all on the head. But it was like, “Oh well, that’s not gonna happen,” and it was interesting just when I first saw that headline — it was just the possibility of it and who knows what’s gonna happen, obviously — I was like, “Hang on!” But I think, unfortunately, the ship has sailed for me, but for someone else I would like to see Wolverine in there.”
There’s an inescapably bittersweet nature to this whole Fox/Disney deal. Jackman has been one of the biggest icons in the comic book movie industry since the 2000s, and it’s painfully ironic that everything is coming together just as he departs.
At the same time, Jackman’s also correct in saying that the time for him to be the Wolverine in an Avengers universe has passed. Right now, Wolverine is one of several big characters facing a re-casting dilemma (looking at you, Batman…), but the introduction of the X-Men to the MCU would be the perfect excuse to also introduce an all-new version of Wolverine. Some fans would probably love to see Jackman cameo in the MCU at some point as “Old Man Logan” or something, which would be a nice way of giving the character his proper due.
Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters on May 4, 2018. Thor: Ragnarok is now playing in theaters. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include; Black Panther on February 16, 2018, Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.
The X-Men Movie Universe continues with The New Mutants on April 13th; Untitled Deadpool Sequel on June 1st; and X-Men: Dark Phoenix on November 2nd.
