For years, Wolverine and the Marvel Cinematic Universe were mutually exclusive – Hugh Jackman’s mutant leader was the property of 20th Century Fox, while Kevin Feige and Co. grew the MCU into one of the biggest film franchises in Hollywood history.
But on December 14th, everything changed. Bringing an end to weeks of speculation, rumors and alleged false starts, Disney and Fox reached a groundbreaking $52 billion deal that will, in time, redraw the superhero genre as we know it.
Characters like Deadpool and Fantastic Four, who were originally given away by Marvel in the ’90s, are now headed home, while the Mouse House has also gained control of Alien, Predator and a number of other big-name franchises. And don’t even get us started on the TV front.
What does this all mean for Wolverine, though? Well, the studio has yet to give us any sort of idea of what their plan is, but presumably, he’ll be recast. Jackman’s done with the role, that’s for sure, and the clawed mutant is far too important of a character to just leave on the sidelines. The question is, though, who will be chosen to bring Wolvie to life next?
Many names have cropped up in regards to that particular conversation, but one individual who keeps finding himself linked to the part is Tom Hardy. The intense, charismatic and extremely talented actor would make an absolutely perfect Wolvie and in case you’re not convinced of that yet, we’ve now got some new fan art to help sway you.
Seen in the gallery down below (along with a few pieces that surfaced late last year), this design places Wolverine back into his classic yellow spandex costume. Or at least, a slight variation of it. With a more gritty and grounded feel, it’s something that could definitely work on the big screen, and while the person wearing the suit here doesn’t really resemble Hardy, you still get the idea.
Of course, just because Tom Hardy would be a great choice for the role that doesn’t mean it’ll one day be his. After all, he’s now part of Sony’s Marvel universe, headlining Venom for them, while he’s also got his slate quite full with a Mad Max sequel, a role as Al Capone in Fonzo and more.
Besides, with the actor already 40 years of age, he may not want to commit to what would surely be a multi-picture deal to play Wolverine. Not to mention that we imagine Marvel may be looking at someone younger, who could stick around for the long haul and perhaps even inhabit the role for a similar amount of time as Jackman did.
All we can really do right now is speculate, as again, the studio’s made no plans just yet, but if Tom Hardy were to find himself suiting up as the X-Men leader at some point down the road, you certainly wouldn’t hear any complaints from us.
