The Deadpool & Wolverine press tour has started with Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Shawn Levy & Co. traveling to China, Korea, and Germany to promote the highly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine ahead of its July 26th release date. Marvel is screening some footage from the film at these massive events. That’s how we got confirmation of a big cameo in the movie.
This hype for this long-awaited MCU movie continues to build, and I can’t wait to see how Deadpool and Wolverine save the multiverse. The teasers aren’t enough. I hope this isn’t the last time we see these two actors in the same Marvel adventure.
What I mean to say is that I hope Jackman will stick around beyond Deadpool 3. Because, of course, Deadpool will continue to appear in upcoming Marvel movies. That’s the entire point of this sequel. Deadpool has to traverse the multiverse, leave his world behind, and join the MCU.
After some rumors said that we’d see more of Wolverine in Avengers: Secret Wars, a Marvel insider hints that Jackman isn’t going anywhere. Before we explore the exciting new rumor, I’ll warn you that some spoilers might follow below.
Marvel insider Daniel Richtman posted the following rather cryptic teaser on X:
“It looks like Hugh Jackman is sticking around for a bit more,” he said without giving us any other details. Any Marvel fan familiar with rumors knows that Secret Wars leaks claimed that Marvel wants as many superheroes from non-MCU movies to help the Avengers. Wolverine is definitely on that list.
A few months ago, a different insider said that Jackman told Marvel he’d be back as Wolverine for Secret Wars if he’d get to interact with Tobey Maguire and Robert Downey Jr. While that rumor can’t be verified at this time, seeing Wolverine, Maguire Spider-Man and Iron Man in the same scene is everyone’s dream at this point.
But how can Marvel pull it off? Remember that Jackman used to say he didn’t want to return to his beloved X-Men role, considering what had happened with his character in Logan.
Deadpool 3 features a different Wolverine
I have repeatedly explained why Deadpool & Wolverine has to be a multiverse movie. It’s the only way for Marvel to bring the Deadpool variant we saw in Fox’s films to the MCU. The same goes for Jackman’s Wolverine and all the purported X-Men cameos that we’re supposedly getting in Deadpool 3.
We knew Deadpool 3 would be a multiverse movie even before the massive bombshell dropped that Wolverine would appear in the sequel. Soon after, we learned that Wolverine won’t just be fan service. He’ll be a co-protagonist, sharing the screen with the Merc with a Mouth.
More recently, we also learned a big detail about how Wolverine can return despite having died in Logan. After months of speculation, we know the Wolverine we’re getting Deadpool 3 isn’t the same as the one dying in the Fox movies. He might look identical to that one, but that’s just about it.
As a beat-up Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) tells us in the clip above, this Wolverine let down his entire universe. This Wolverine doesn’t sound like the Wolverine from the Fox movies.
That’s a key plot development for the Deadpool 3 character and a great way for Marvel to avoid headaches. If the TVA were to pick the Fox Wolverine from the reality were Logan dies, it would have to do it before his death. Then, the TVA would have to put Wolverine back on his predestined path.
But this is the TVA of Loki (Tom Hiddleston), an agency that no longer deals in protecting Sacred Timelines and pruning others. So why would Wolverine’s path be already decided.
Also, what if Wolverine dies in this mission with Deadpool? It seems impossible, sure, but it’s a theoretical risk.
What I’m getting at is that it’s a lot easier to simply grab a version of Wolverine that looks and feels familiar without messing with Logan. That might be how Marvel deals with the return of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) for Secret Wars, but I digress.
Back to Wolverine, the way he’s coming to the MCU allows Marvel to keep him here rather than putting him back. Marvel can use the character for more than a movie, assuming Jackman wants more Wolverine in his life. Considering what we’re seeing from the press tour, it sure looks like Jackman is having the time of his life with Reynolds, so he might always return.
As for this Wolverine’s character arc, he’s clearly got some redemption to do. The events in Deadpool 3 will give Wolverine a taste of what saving universes feels like. He might get a purpose and a bigger mission. Like helping the Avengers in Secret Wars defeat a massive villain.
Also, if Richtman’s claim is accurate, then it’s very likely this Wolverine version will survive the upcoming events. Not that Marvel would kill the character again so soon.
