Marvel's Rumored X-Men Movie Plans Spell Bad News For Wolverine Fans

If rumors are anything to go by, Wolverine might not be a key part of the "X-Men" franchise as the Marvel Cinematic Universe tries to expand.

Since Disney purchased the company, formerly 21st Century Fox, for north of $71 billion in 2019, fans have patiently waited for Marvel Studios to introduce the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For those uninitiated, Fox held the rights to the X-Men batch of characters. Now, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has access to almost all of Marvel's characters, completing his toybox. And while it has been nearly half a decade since Marvel received access to the most iconic team in comic book history, they still haven't done much with the Mutants.

Things are, however, looking up for the X-Men. Following the confirmation that the Writers Guild of America Strike 2023 would be ending, Deadline reported in late September that Marvel execs were finally listening to pitches regarding upcoming "X-Men" projects. While concrete details regarding pitches are non-existent, it's obvious that Marvel is moving forward with the comic book property. Seeing as pitches are only now being heard, it's fair to say that a project won't manifest for quite some time, which means speculation has already kickstarted.

Notable Hollywood insider CanWeGetSomeToast has taken to X, formerly Twitter, to suggest that the upcoming "X-Men" project in the MCU might be going in a direction that fans might not appreciate. "The current idea to reboot the #XMen in the MCU does NOT feature Wolverine on the team..." the X user shared. This decision, if true, is surprising, considering the modern-day "X-Men" mythos has become synonymous with Wolverine, a character who grew in popularity after Hugh Jackman's performance.

Currently, there are no concrete and obvious plot details regarding the future of the X-Men roster of characters on the big screen. Fox's "X-Men" franchise was expansive and complicated, comprising of several mainline entries, spin-offs, and Wolverine-related projects, and it remains to be seen what Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige choose to salvage. As of now, it's unclear what exactly the future holds, but if CanWeGetSomeToast's report is anything to go by, it means MCU fans might be dealing with a Wolverine-less future. 

While Wolverine has always been an iconic X-Men character, the character rose in popularity following Hugh Jackman's performance in the 2000 film. The project launched the Australian actor to superstardom, with Jackman becoming synonymous with the role. The "X-Men" franchise quickly became a vehicle for Jackman's Wolverine, with the character operating as the franchise's leading player. Eventually, Jackman received his own trilogy of Wolverine-centric films, which included the Oscar-nominated "Logan." 

Seeing as Wolverine overshadowed the rest of the mutants in the cinematic franchise, it isn't surprising to learn that the creatives over at Marvel Studios aren't interested in debuting the superhero just yet. If an upcoming "X-Men" project without Wolverine debuts, it'll allow the new roster of characters (and actors) to break away from the legacy and expectations initially set up by the Fox films. It'll also allow Marvel Studios an opportunity to take the "X-Men" franchise in a considerably different direction, perhaps one that's more in line with the comic books. Besides, Wolverine could always show up once the core batch of X-Men characters are established. 

Seeing as CanWeGetSomeToast's report is just a rumor, one shouldn't put too much stock in it. Besides, Wolverine is still set to be a key part of the MCU... kind of. 

While there's a chance that Wolverine won't be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's X-Men team, that doesn't mean that the character won't exist in the franchise. Despite suggesting that 2017's "Logan" would be the last time audiences would see him as Wolverine, Hugh Jackman is on track to reprise the iconic mutant in the upcoming "Deadpool 3." Directed by Shawn Levy, the upcoming threequel is set prior to the events of "Logan" and while details are slim on the flick, Jackman confirmed in a video with star Ryan Reynolds that the meta-project wouldn't sully "Wolverine's goodbye." 

How does Wolverine come back for "Deadpool 3"? That's anyone's guess, but the most important thing to know is that the Reynolds-led film will be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making "Deadpool 3" the first formal "X-Men" project in the franchise. Details are still slim, but director Shawn Levy has made it clear: the film is just as much about Jackman's Wolverine as it is about Reynolds' Deadpool. "So the story, the tone, the movie itself leans into that gift of having Deadpool and Wolverine co-starring in a movie for the first time," Levy said while speaking with Collider. 

For "X-Men" fans, it certainly must be a dream to have Wolverine interact with Deadpool one more time, especially within the MCU. While still unconfirmed, rumors have suggested that "Deadpool 3" will feature the return of other X-Men characters who appeared in Fox projects, potentially serving as a goodbye to those actors. For now, the future of the "X-Men" franchise and Wolverine is uncertain, meaning fans will just have to wait and see how "Deadpool 3" deals with the mutants and their shenanigans.