Perhaps Deadpool was right after all when he said about Wolverine: Fox killed him. Disney brought him back. They’re gonna make him do this till he’s 90. In what seems like an anti-retirement plan, Marvel is allegedly planning to keep Hugh Jackman in their back pocket for future purposes once the studio is done with their upcoming multiversal showdown, Avengers: Secret Wars.
After stepping out of retirement for one last job in 2024, Jackman is now having trouble putting the genie back in the bottle. Now, it seems like Wolverine is here to stay in the MCU for the foreseeable future, as per an inside scoop by Daniel Richtman (via X).
Ryan Reynolds’ Disney Prediction Comes Back to Haunt Hugh Jackman
Time and again, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds had warned his best friend/co-star about the perils of his grand comeback. However, Hugh Jackman’s return as the clawed mutant was a dream scenario, and even the actor failed to ignore his calling. The outcome: $1.338 billion in box office revenue (The Numbers).
An amount this massive isn’t something Hollywood can ever willingly ignore, and both Deadpool and Wolverine have now become the golden geese for the MCU. Kevin Feige would be remiss not to realize how lucky he is to have two IPs that are just as adored by the fans as they are profitable for the studio, thus assuring both critical and commercial success.
All of this only goes on to ascertain that Disney will not be letting go of Hugh Jackman any time soon. And, if they play their cards right, Wolverine could even go on to be the herald of the X-Men and the transitional stepping stone between the MCU and the Mutant universe that lies beyond Secret Wars.
To that end, “until you’re 90” seems like quite an accurate prophecy coming from Ryan Reynolds.
Future Projects That Could Potentially Feature Wolverine in the MCU
For now, Marvel has yet to release their post-Secret Wars slate of movies and TV shows. But Kevin Feige has left enough breadcrumbs for the fans to follow until then.
Secret Wars will essentially end the sole reign of the Avengers as Earth’s mightiest protectors. In their stead, the Fantastic Four and X-Men are now making their way toward the primary timeline and will be integrated into the main universe by the time Doomsday arrives.
When the two-part finale ends with incursions and a Battleworld showdown between Doctor Doom and all the heroes and villains of the MCU, the slate will be wiped clean for a fresh start – for both the fans and the studio. A clean slate also means the beginning of a new regime inhabited by the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Young Avengers, and the New Avengers.
Wolverine, being the only link between the old and the new epochs at Marvel, could serve as the continuity link. As such, Wolverine could potentially appear in every nascent X-Men film/series after 2026, with the possibility of small cameos to effectively hold the timeline together and guide the new universe in the right direction.
Below is a list of all the essential details about Deadpool & Wolverine that featured Hugh Jackman’s debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as an X-Men:
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Deadpool & Wolverine is available to stream on Disney+.
