Does Hugh Jackman's Wolverine Return in Deadpool 3 Confirm the MCU's First X-Men Casting?

Mutants are already part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A seismic reveal at the end of Ms. Marvel confirmed Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) has been turned into a mutant within the live-action franchise, contrasting the Inhuman nature of her comic book counterpart. Fast forward a few months and Tenoch Huerta confirms his take on Namor would also be a mutant when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters in November. Before too long, Hugh Jackman will join the two as another mutant in the Marvel Cinematic Universe...so does that mean the MCU has found its first member of the X-Men?

At first glance, it would seem neither Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) or Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) will be members of the MCU's X-Men team. Jackman has long said Logan is his last outing as the character, meaning his return very well could be only to say he's appeared in Hollywood's largest franchise alongside one of his best friends.

At the same time, Jackman's continued insistence that Logan was his final outing as the character could mean he's now open to reprising the role more frequently. That said, Jackman is nearly 54 years old, and the MCU's main Wolverine will likely be a hefty role throughout the next two decades or so.

When will the X-Men reboot hit theaters?

So far, Deadpool 3 is the only X-Men-adjacent dated movie on the Marvel Studios release slate. There have been rumors as an actual X-Men movie in the works, but nothing has been officially announced outside of Deadpool 3 and Disney+'s animated X-Men '97 series. As it stands now, both 2023 and 2024 are booked full between Marvel films and television shows and 2025 is quickly filling up. At to going rate, it's likely Marvel's X-Men reboot wouldn't drop until 2026 at the earliest.

What X-Men movies will Marvel Studios release?

Nobody knows! Ms. Marvel filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah previously said they didn't even know Ms. Marvel was being turned into a mutant, suggesting Kevin Feige was the only one with the "mutant master plan."

"[The 'mutation' reveal] was the best-kept secret of the whole show. We didn't even know about it until we suddenly had a script,"  El Arbi,told TVLine earlier this year. "So, when we had it, we asked, 'What's that about? What's going to happen?' And Kevin Feige would say, 'Just shoot this, put the little music on and that's that. Should you be part of the future of Ms. Marvel, then you'll know a little bit more.'" 

Added Fallah, "Kevin Feige has the master plan. He's the only one who knows." 

Deadpool 3 is set for release on September 6,  2024.

What other members of Fox's X-Men universe would you like to see join the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things Marvel!