The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an ever-changing landscape. With Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, properties and characters including the X-Men and Fantastic Four merged into the MCU, giving fans reason to dream.
Earlier this year, Hugh Jackman fueled those flights of fancy when he posted a snap on Instagram of himself alongside Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige. Fan speculation went into overdrive. Pop the champers! Wolverine is joining the MCU.
Could it be the long-teased team-up between Jackman's mutant and Ryan Reynolds chatty merc in Deadpool 3 might *gasp* actually happen? Or might he ease his way into the MCU with a small cameo in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness or Spider-Man: No way Home?
To set the record straight, Jackman sat down to chat with Jake Hamilton on his podcast. During their conversation, the former X-Man confirmed what he said back in 2020: he's played Wolvie for the last time.
"There’s nothing in my inbox from Kevin Feige means it’s probably, no matter what idea I came up with, not on the table,” he says.
"Let’s just be clear that, but now, I realized, before we shot Logan, I was like, we got the idea. We knew what it was going to be-ish, right? And I thought this is it. And that really helped me, it really helped knowing I was going into my last season, that it was my last season that I made the most of it. And it’s still a character I hold close to my heart. But I know it’s done."
He adds: "Tell that to whoever you want, but please tell it to Ryan (Reynolds) because he doesn’t believe it — he thinks I’m joking."
The ongoing "feud" between Jackman and Reynolds is truly a delight to behold. The pair, who are clearly very good friends, mock and jibe one another on social media with their hijinks even making it into a commercial, but it sounds like Jackman's once again confirmed he's finished with the part of Wolverine. He played the character from 2000-2017, so it's understandable his desire to get declawed permanently.
Early sketches for Deadpool 3 had Deadpool and Wolverine teaming up for a road trip adventure in the style of Kurosawa's Rashomon, according to Reynolds, who recently revealed the new script is well underway with production hopefully set to begin next year.
Until we get to revisit the chatty Merc, catch up on what new releases there are to look forward to with our list of upcoming superhero movies.
