‘X-Men”s Wolverine: Does Marvel’s plan make ‘Logan’ not canon?

What better way to follow-up your July 4th celebration than by freaking out over a Canadian superhero? (And how many people actually know everyone’s favorite X-Men is a canuck?) So here we are, once again discussing the inevitable emergence of Wolverine – and the rest of the X-Men – in the MCU. The twist? Hugh Jackman himself is part of the conversation now.

Hugh Jackman? The actor who said goodbye to the X-Men & Wolverine after the universally beloved Logan allowed him to see the character to its bittersweet end? The actor who represents the most perfect piece of casting ever accomplished in a superhero movie? The actor who made Marvel’s most popular mutant mainstream hot?

Yup, that Hugh Jackman. The guy who said he was done playing Wolverine after inhabiting the role over the course of six X-Men movies and three solo Wolverine projects. Also the guy who posted an internet-breaking tease on his Instagram this week. See below.

Hugh Jackman posted these pics to his Instagram story today 👀 #Wolverine with Kevin Feige?? pic.twitter.com/qnUc7ucsqI

— Phase Zero (@PhaseZeroCB) July 5, 2021

X-cuse me?

Well, um, there’s a lot to unpack there – and also, unsurprisingly, very little actual information. Those are definitely Wolverine’s claws, right? And that’s most certainly Hugh Jackman standing next to Kevin Feige. Feige’s sporting the sort of triumphant smile that says “I just signed Wolverine onto the next Avengers movie” while Jackman looks a little surprised by the photo even though he’s clearly the one taking it.

At first glance, it feels like there’s only one way to read the visual triple threat of Wolverine’s most distinctive feature, the man who brought the character to life on the big screen, and the Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Studios. Hugh Jackman’s reprising his role as Wolverine for the MCU’s Phase 4, baby! And where Wolverine goes, the rest of the X-Men are soon to follow.

But didn’t Wolverine die at the end of Logan? The Hugh Jackman version of the character did, at least. In fact, didn’t Logan establish that pretty much every X-Men except for Professor Xavier had bitten the dust? More importantly, didn’t Logan make it obvious it was set in a world where there weren’t any other superheroes? There’s no way the Avengers would’ve let that dystopian future come to life. Or is there?

X-planations abound

Figuring out the timeline of Wolverine’s life was a challenge even before Jackman & Feige hinted at the most popular X-Men showing up on the MCU. From the first X-Men film all the way to Logan, Wolverine’s had a convoluted journey to say the least. In a way, you could argue that him randomly showing up alongside the Avengers would simply be par for the course when it comes to the character.

Of course, the MCU has an even better way to handle Jackman’s crossover – if they wanted to. We’re in the era of the multiverse, dear friends. WandaVision & Loki have already started to tentatively pull at that multiple-realities thread, and the upcoming Spider-Man and Dr. Strange movies are supposed to truly embrace the concept. And once you open that transdimensional door, anything could happen.

It’s entirely possible Hugh Jackman could show up in the MCU as a visitor from an alternate timeline – a timeline where the Avengers never existed and the X-Men defended the planet until the events that led to Logan took place. Or he could be a Wolverine we’ve never met before, from yet another timeline, or maybe even the Wolverine from the current MCU timeline.

The possibilities are endless once you introduce the concept of multiple realities existing at the same time. You could read Hugh Jackman’s new Wolverine adventures as Marvel saying Logan isn’t canon. Or you can read it as Marvel saying everything is canon, because everything has happened – it simply has happened in different realities. Again, have you seen what they’ve been doing with Loki?

X-treme trolling

Now, here’s the harsh truth: this could all be nothing. Or it could be something very different from what we’re assuming. We think too highly of Hugh Jackman to believe this could ever be just a prank, but . . . maybe it’s just teasing news that has nothing to do with Wolverine and the X-Men making their way into Phase 4?

What if Hugh Jackman’s Instagram posts actually mean he’s going to write and/or direct an upcoming MCU movie? Or what if it’s a prelude to Jackman eventually unveiling the actor who will pick up the Wolverine baton, who will take the torch from him, so to speak? Or maybe Feige is just a big Les Miserables fan. You never know.

Whatever the case, one thing’s for sure: the Instagram post did its job. Everyone’s talking about Wolverine and the X-Men again. Bravo.

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How do you feel about Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine (and the rest of the X-Men) popping up in the MCU? Let us know in the comments!