Credit: 20th Century StudiosIf Marvel bosses are still searching for the next Wolverine/Logan, the most iconic character from the X-Men, then they may wish to turn their attention to the hit Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things, whose part one of the fourth and final season is currently streaming.
Recently, Marvel fans expected to see Hugh Jackman reprise his role as the gruff, adamantium-clawed mutant in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), but the only veteran X-Men actor who appears in the film is Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier.
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There have also been rumors of Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe taking on the role within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the actor has neither confirmed or denied such a possibility. So if the Wolverine/Logan doors are indeed open, then we have the perfect candidate in mind.
Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 1 recently premiered on Netflix, consisting of six episodes, each of them around the 1 hour 20 minute mark, which makes the latest and last series feel all the more epic. Volume 2 will arrive on July 1, with two final episodes.
And if Volume 1 is anything to go by, it’s set to be a thrill-ride of epic proportions. Created by the Duffer brothers, Stranger Things became an instant classic in 2016, and is a show that somehow channels the ’80s better than even most films of that era do, a trend that hasn’t waned since.
The show takes place in Hawkins, Indiana, where a group of young friends discover that their hometown has some dark secrets — a young girl named Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) who has telekinetic powers, and a gateway to the “Upside Down”, a dark parallel version of Hawkins.
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Season 1’s main protagonist is a horrifying creature known as the “Demogorgon”, with each season thereafter introducing more complex monstrous entities from the Upside Down, while also dealing with the drama and growing pains among its many young characters.
But in Season 4, the stakes are higher than ever before, as a sentient demonic being known as “Vecna”, described by the protagonists as a “dark wizard”, exhibits telekinetic powers of his own. Meanwhile, Eleven, who has lost her powers, must uncover a dark truth in order to regain them.
Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 1!
The Season 4 Volume 1 finale, “Chapter 7: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab”, opens with a number of characters battling a swarm of bat-like creatures, after having accidentally wound up in the Upside Down, a barren landscape bathed in a hellish red mist, at the end of the previous episode.
Stranger Things is well known for referencing countless movies, TV shows, comic books, video games, and board games from the period in which it’s set, but Season 4’s Chapter 7 opening seems to be begging for Disney and Marvel, rather than the fans themselves, to take notice.
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Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) is taking on the winged Upside Down monsters, and between his mane of brown hair and the fact he’s shirtless, he looks like a rock star (he’s even later referred to as “Ozzy Osbourne”, although this has more to do with the fact that he bites a bat’s head clean off).
Steve has long been a fan-favorite Stranger Things character, and his back-and-forth banter with the fellow fan-favorite Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), a friend with whom he’s always coupled up during their Scooby Doo-like investigations throughout Hawkins, is a joy to watch.
However, we see a very different side to the otherwise hilarious and charming Steve while he protects his friends, Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke). And he is oozing Wolverine vibes during this nail-biting sequence.
It’s unlikely that Joe Keery will end up playing Wolverine/Logan in the MCU, and it’s possible that an actor has already been cast into the role (perhaps it’s Hugh Jackman, or someone else altogether, although we can’t quite imagine Daniel Radcliffe taking on the role).
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Hugh Jackman has now played the character in X-Men (2000), X-2: X-Men United (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: First Class (2011), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), and Logan (2017)
But if the Marvel bosses are yet to find a worthy successor to fill Jackman’s boots, or even convince the actor to return, then they should probably binge-watch Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2. Or perhaps even give the Duffer brothers their own Wolverine/Logan movie to helm!
And who’s to say we only need one Wolverine/Logan? The doors to the multiverse were officially opened in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), which sees the return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as their respective versions of Spider-Man/Peter Parker.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness follows this up by bringing Professor Charles Xavier into the fold, so we now know that Wolverine/Logan is definitely out there somewhere in the MCU, and not just one version, but infinite versions. Although we really only need the one.
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Joe Keery previously starred in the found-footage satirical horror movie Spree (2020), in which he plays a “Spree” driver who goes on a murder rampage. The role finds Keery tapping into his darker side, a bare essential requirement for the gritty character of Wolverine/Logan.
So here’s to hoping Joe Keery will keep that shaggy mane of hair and one day wield those adamantium-clad bone claws. And never say never — remember when Finn Wolfhard dressed up as a Ghostbuster in Stranger Things Season 2, years before Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)?
Meanwhile, there are rumors that Millie Bobby Brown will be appearing in the MCU in some shape or form, following conversations with Marvel that the young actress has confirmed to have taken place. Rumors of Brown appearing as a young Princess Leia also continue.
So, Joe Keery as the next Wolverine/Logan? Well, stranger things have happened…
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Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 1 stars Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven/Jane Hopper), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), and Noah Schnapp (Will Byers).
Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 1 is currently streaming on Netflix, along with all previous three seasons of the show, and Volume 2 will premiere on July 1. Meanwhile, the X-Men movies and MCU movies are available to watch on Disney+.
Do you think Joe Keery from Stranger Things would make a great Wolverine/Logan? Let us know in the comments down below!