The X-Men are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Studios has no small task ahead of them in making sure that the iconic team can lead the franchise in Phase 7 and beyond. Marvel Studios is also sure to make every effort to separate their adaptation of the team(s) from what came before. To celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas, we’ve decided to put together a list of which characters might play a key role and how Marvel Studios can ensure nobody will confuse them with their Fox counterparts or, in this case, one that should play a key role this time around as well.
The Best There Is at What He Does
Hugh Jackman‘s Logan was the central character of Fox’s nearly two-decade run of X-films. Wolverine was the central character of the original trilogy, headlined three solo films (can they be called a trilogy when they seem so disconnected?), appeared in one and cameoed in another and was even referenced in the two Deadpool films. So what in the world is he doing here? Hopefully suiting up in one of the most iconic comic book costumes of all time!
Jackman will get the chance to be the one to wear that suit when he becomes the first of Fox’s X-Men (that we know of at least) to show up in the MCU when the untitled Deadpool and Wolverine movie hits theaters in November 2024. It’s almost impossible to imagine that Kevin Feige, who worked with Fox on the early X-films, won’t address one of the greatest travesties in comic book movie history and get Jackman in the spandex. But what’s next after that? Surely Jackman might stick around for another appearance in Avengers: Secret Wars, but he isn’t going to play Wolverine forever…
If rumors about Tiamut, the big corpse in the ocean at the end of Eternals, being made of Adamantium (or perhaps bringing it up from the Earth’s core, where he was growing) are true and the events of Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts revolve around the governments of the world trying to get their hands on the metal, the road to Wolverine in the MCU has already begun to be paved. Restarting the Weapons Plus program now seems imminent with the MCU and while Logan probably won’t be the only experiment, he’s the most well-known. Will the MCU waste time on a retelling of his origin story in detail or will they want to get to the dozens of potentially great and unexplored stories that Fox skimmed over? Shadowcat and Ogun. His father-daughter relationship with Jubilee. His horrible relationship with his own son, Daken. Hanging out with his bestie, Kurt. Serving on X-Force with Deadpool, Fantomex, Betsy and Angel. There are so many great Wolverine stories to adapt to the MCU that Marvel Studios need not touch whatever people believe the legacy of Fox’s Wolverine to be. But I’m guessing they’ll let Jackman be the one to take on the Hulk!
