Credit: Ryan Reynolds on YouTubeThe last time we saw Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in all his feral glory was during 2017’s Logan, after which he announced his retirement from the character. Cut to 2023 where it was announced that the actor would be donning the claws once again as one of Marvel’s favorite mutants in Deadpool 3. Although that’s great news for Marvel fans, does it diminish the character after his previous works?
James Mangold, director of Logan, stated in a recent interview that he wasn’t very hopeful about the character’s return. Mangold stated that,
“I can’t say that there’s a part of me that doesn’t wish that we’d let it be… But there was always going to be another Wolverine. There could be a baby Wolverine and a cartoon Wolverine. As much liquid as they can squeeze out of that rag, they’re going to try to.”
While he’s right to a point and all artists want to protect their visions, Mangold can lay claim to his interpretation of Wolverine, but not the character itself. Along with characters like Spider-Man and Loki, he is subject to change and new versions and variants.
Wolverine Needs to be Over-the-Top
Logan was a masterpiece of superhero cinema, absolutely stunning, well-worthy of its praise, and so on and so on. However, was it really the best representation of the X-Men’s wild, clawed, hot-headed, cigar chomping, mainstay? That’s a very debatable subject.
Even Hugh Jackman himself is reportedly excited to step into the costume again, and it looks like he’ll be getting back to his roots. If Deadpool is involved in any sort of way, it’s a safe bet that Marvel will be trading in the grizzled old mutant for his leather-clad counterpart seen in the comics and original X-Men films.
Jackman’s co-star Ryan Reynolds all but confirmed the actor’s position by stating,
“I think he was excited. What we pitched him was enough of a divergence from the character that he knows and the character that he’s left behind that it gives him something completely new to play and something that he’s really excited to do.”
Based on what’s been said about the film so far, fans can infer that this will be a new variant of the character they know and love, but it won’t mess up the timeline established by Logan. Does this mean we’ll get to see Jackman don that famous yellow costume and start slicing up bad guys alongside the Merc with the Mouth? We’ll have to wait and see.
Do you think Marvel needs the traditional Wolverine back? Let Inside the Magic Know in the comments below!