When it comes to the most iconic combination of actor and character in the history of the superhero genre, Hugh Jackman’s tenure as Wolverine has to be ranked either first or second, alongside Robert Downey Jr.’s iconic stint as Iron Man.
The two stars played the roles for so long across so many projects that they became virtually indistinguishable, leaving a huge void for the rest of their co-stars to fill when they bowed out by making the ultimate sacrifice play. We know that the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be rebooting and reintroducing the X-Men eventually, which has created plenty of Wolverine-related speculation.
Daniel Radcliffe keeps batting away questions, and Karl Urban came right out and said he was too old, but does the next iteration of the merry band of mutants even need Logan to survive? It’s a question that’s been asked on Reddit, and one that’s been drumming up plenty of interesting debate in the comments section.
The short answer is probably no, because the MCU is more than popular and capable enough to bring a new generation of X-Men to the screen without the property’s most recognizable figure, and that’s without even mentioning that Kevin Feige has the rights to literally hundreds of favorites at his disposal that either haven’t been seen in live-action before, or weren’t given a fair shake of the stick first time out.
Then, there’s the near-impossible task of following in Jackman’s footsteps to consider, so the smartest option might just be to leave Wolverine on the sidelines for at least a little while longer.
