Is Hugh Jackman sticking around the MCU now that he just returned in Deadpool & Wolverine? While originally anticipated as a one-off comeback, à la Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the fact that this summer’s blockbuster was Marvel’s most successful movie in many a year indicates Marvel will be doing all it can to keep Jackman aboard. “til your 90” might not have been just a joke.
Even so, what with the Australian actor being the only person to play Logan in live-action for the past 24 years now (excepting the Cavillrine, of course), many fans out there believe the time is right for someone new to take on the legendary role. Especially as Marvel is heading towards an X-Men reboot which will introduce the Earth-19999 version of these characters. You’ve probably heard all the usual suspects before. Daniel Radcliffe, Tom Hardy, Taron Egerton, yadda yadda…
A fresh contender has entered the ring, however, and his case for the role might be adamantium-tight. One tweet has gone viral for waking the world up to how Saturday Night actor Matt Wood is a spot-on Wolverine casting waiting to happen.
Wood only has seven credits to his name on IMDb but he looks set for big things after impressing critics with his performance as John Belushi in the recently released Saturday Night, a biopic about the first-ever SNL episode. Due to his lack of fame at this point, we’re not entirely sure of his personal details, but Wood is believed to be in his early 30s and to be in the mid-5″ range in height. In other words, he’s the right age to sign up for a Marvel role for at least a decade and he’s a spot-on match for the famously short-statured Logan in the comics.
Those in the replies to @Runaway_Wiccan’s X post are blown away by how eerily on-point Wood would be as Wolverine. Even down to the demeanor and attitude he exudes in his Instagram selfies.
Many are in agreement that we might as well call any and all fan-casts off from now on as nobody is going to beat Wood.
Does the MCU need another Wolverine besides Hugh Jackman?
After the rampaging popularity of Deadpool & Wolverine, there’s definitely a hunger to have more of Hugh Jackman in the yellow and blue, on both the studio’s side and that of the audience. That said, after what will soon be over a quarter of a century of inhabiting this part, it arguably is time for Jackman to relinquish the role for good in order to let Marvel Studios really put its own stamp on that most iconic of X-Men.
With this being the Multiverse Saga, it makes sense for Jackman to remain for the remainder of Phases Five to Seven, and no doubt turn up again with Ryan Reynolds’ Wade in tow for Avengers: Doomsday and/or Secret Wars. Once the MCU makes a fresh start as its third saga begins, then, this would be where Wood’s hypothetical Logan could make his debut. Marvel is still only in the earliest stages of its X-Men reboot, remember, as scripted by The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes scribe Michael Lesslie. This multiverse is big enough for two Wolverines, bub.