Hugh Jackman Officially Teases Wolverine Future & His Own MCU Replacement

July 2, 2026, 1:33pm

It was almost a decade ago fans though they had seen the last of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. The actor made clear his plans to retire from his career-defining role after 2017’s Logan, which earned widespread critical acclaim and was considered the perfect send off. Of course, Jackman returned to the Marvel universe in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, playing a Logan variant still grieving the loss of his old X-Men teammates. In the wake of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s success, many are wondering if Jackman’s planning on sticking around in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the foreseeable future, even as Marvel begins development on its X-Men reboot.

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Speaking with PBS, Jackman addressed his potential MCU future and what advice he’d give his Wolverine replacement. “I’m 57. I’m doing it till I’m 90. So, you know… I’ll do a little time capsule for them,” he said, jokingly referencing the now-famous joke in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Continuing, Jackman revealed that whenever Wolverine is recast, he’s going to stay out of the new actor’s way and let him do his own thing. “I’m not going to say anything to whoever plays him, ’cause no one said anything to me, which I really am thrilled about. And I had not read the comics, so I was just coming to it fresh. And I learned a lot over the years. Of course I’ve got my own take, but it must be melding in with me in some way. I hope someone just comes in and does whatever the f*** they want and makes it their own.”

How Much Longer Will Hugh Jackman Play Wolverine?

Even though Deadpool & Wolverine was a record-breaking success that grossed over $1 billion, Marvel has been mum on both characters’ futures in the MCU. Officially, no future appearances for Wade Wilson or Logan have been confirmed, with Ryan Reynolds going so far as to say his days of headlining movies as Deadpool are over. If the Merc with a Mouth ever does return, he would be a supporting player in a larger ensemble — presumably with Jackman’s Wolverine in tow after Deadpool & Wolverine ended with Logan and Laura settling down in Wade’s home dimension. Disney and Marvel would surely want to put Reynolds and Jackman together again.

There are many veteran X-Men actors returning in Avengers: Doomsday, but Jackman hasn’t been announced for that film or its follow-up Avengers: Secret Wars yet. Considering how those movies will be pulling from all corners of the Marvel movie multiverse to round out its massive ensemble (with rumors about other Spider-Man actors popping up), it seems likely Jackman would return for at least one of the Avengers installments before he hangs up the claws for good. A goal of Secret Wars is to give the MCU a soft reset moving forward, so it could be the last opportunity for members of the old guard to get one last hurrah.

All that said, there’s been speculation that Jackman will remain a part of the MCU into Phase 7. Last year, reports indicated Marvel was interested in bringing Jackman back for “more projects even after [Secret Wars].” If that’s true, then it could be several years before Jackman’s Wolverine replacement is cast. The X-Men are going to be a key part of the MCU’s next era, with a reboot from director Jake Schreier in development. It’s widely expected that Marvel will target young, rising talent to headline, but conceivably, Jackman’s Wolverine could stick around in a mentorship role and help guide the new generation of mutants. When the MCU gets its soft reset, certain elements and characters from the previous films will be carried over. Jackman’s Wolverine has remained widely popular for over 25 years, so he could be a candidate to return.

Of course, with Jackman approaching 60, he can’t actually play Wolverine forever (as funny as that is to joke about). Marvel would arguably be better-served trying to find his successor sooner rather than later; the longer Jackman stays in the role, the more difficult it becomes to replace him. For that reason, it would probably be for the best if he came back for at least one of the Avengers movies and then moved on — unless the plan is to ultimately elevate Dafne Keen’s X-23, an iconic fan favorite, to a starring role in the X-Men ensemble and have her be that team’s answer to Wolverine. Then, keeping Jackman around through Phase 7 may not be as bad.

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