It seems that while doing the press runs to promote Disney+ series WandaVision, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has had to answer more questions about future projects than he has the one he actually wants to discuss. When asked recently whether Feige had any particular actor in mind to take over the role of Wolverine, the Marvel head honcho responded with a pretty definitive answer.
“No.”
Oh, well, moving right along then…
While Kevin Feige was quick to shut down any conversations about Wolverine specifically, he did recently reveal some interesting details regarding Marvel’s approach to the wider X-Men franchise. “You know how much I love the X-Men,” he said. “I already said that’s where I started. I can’t tell you anything before we actually announced it, but rest assured, the discussions have been long and ongoing internally.” This is certainly a promising update and is sure to fill the heads of X-Men fans with all sorts of exciting possibilities.
Marvel Studios and Disney have now quite famously acquired the rights to the X-Men franchise following the landmark merger of themselves with 20th Century Fox. At Fox, the franchise spawned a total of 13 movies, beginning with the first X-Men in 2000, which was followed up with several sequels and spin-offs including X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, and finally 2019’s Dark Phoenix
As for Wolverine, he was lucky enough to receive his own trilogy. Increasing in quality with each installment, the solo adventures of Wolverine began terribly with 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine and found a middle ground with 2013’s The Wolverine, before going out on a critically acclaimed high in 2017 with the R-rated Logan.
Taking inspiration from the comic book run Old Man Logan, Logan finds Hugh Jackman portraying the famous X-Men member for the final time, having played the role for 17 years. Based in a bleak future where mutants are no more, the movie follows an aged Wolverine and an extremely ill Charles Xavier as they attempt to defend a mysterious young girl named Laura from a villainous gang.
Jackman has become synonymous with the role, with many hoping that he will simply be asked back when the X-Men do eventually debut in the MCU. In fact, perhaps that’s why Feige was so dismissive of the question. Because no thought has gone into who’s going to play Wolverine in the MCU. Because Hugh Jackman is Wolverine and thus it’s a foregone conclusion. We’re onto you, Feige.
Should Jackman not get the call, several actors have been rumored to take over, including Mad Max: Fury Road star Tom Hardy, The Hobbit actors Aidan Turner and Richard Armitage, and even Hollywood legend Danny DeVito. Logan fans meanwhile are of the opinion that Dafne Keen, who played Laura AKA X-23 in the movie, should take up the mantle from her sort-of father.
Another topic that Feige was willing to divulge a little more information about is just how far ahead the studio has planned the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s future. “To varying degrees of specificity, it’s always about five to six years out versus what we’ve announced,” Feige revealed.
So, it’s safe to assume that Wolverine and The X-Men will share the screen with the rest of the Marvel roster someday. This comes to us from Collider.