‘Avengers: Secret Wars’: Hugh Jackman Jokingly Confirms Wolverine’s Return!!

With the exception of Wesley Snipes‘ Blade, no character and performance in Marvel‘s cinematic history has quite as lengthy a legacy of Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine. Both returned in the smash-hit MCU sequel/reboot, Deadpool & Wolverine — the R-rated extravaganza that proved Jackman had what it took to keep playing Wolverine even after the character’s seemingly definitive ending in Logan. With both Logan Howlett and Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) surviving the events of their MCU debut, naturally fans have been wondering if the duo could possibly return, particularly as the Multiverse Saga enters its swan song with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Now, we have a bit more clarity on just how long Hugh Jackman is willing to play his most iconic character. In an interview with PBS, Jackman was asked about his future in the MCU and any advice he might have for an eventual successor, and it sounds like he really is willing to play the character until he’s 90:

“I’m 57. I’m doing it till I’m 90. So, you know, I’ll do a little time capsule for them. I’m not going to say anything to whoever plays him, ’cause no one said anything to me, which I really am thrilled about. And I had not read the comics, so I was just coming to it fresh. And I learned a lot over the years.

“Of course, I’ve got my own take, but it must be melding in with me in some way. I hope someone just comes in and does whatever the f*** they want and makes it their own.”

So overall, it sounds like Jackman still has a desire to play Wolverine, but is also more than willing to pass the torch to a “fresh” face. That correlates perfectly with Marvel‘s reported plan for the X-Men after Doomsday and Secret Wars hit theaters. Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier has been tapped to direct a new X-Men movie that would fully reboot the superhero team of mutants for the MCU, with reports suggesting that Marvel is looking for a brand-new cast for a fresh new take on some of the comic giant’s most popular characters. Whether or not Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is involved in the new project in any capacity remains to be seen.

Will Hugh Jackman Appear in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ or ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’?

Currently, Hugh Jackman is heavily rumored but not explicitly confirmed to appear in the upcoming Avengers movies. That said, with or without Jackman and Wolverine, the X-Men will still play a major key role in the final chapter of the Multiverse Saga. Several familiar faces from X-Men’s long cinematic history are confirmed to return for Doomsday, including Patrick Stewart as the benevolent Professor X, Ian McKellen as the morally complex Magneto, James Marsden as X-Men team leader Cyclops, Kelsey Grammer as mutant genius Beast, Rebecca Romijn as master of disguise Mystique, Alan Cumming as the devout Nightcrawler, and Channing Tatum as the smooth-talking Gambit. While nothing about Jackman‘s role has been explicitly confirmed by Marvel yet, considering Channing Tatum‘s Gambit originates from Deadpool & Wolverine and Ryan Reynolds is also heavily rumored to appear in the next two movies, it would be hard to imagine an X-Men reunion without Hugh Jackman.