Hear Me Out: Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine is a bad idea
When news dropped that Hugh Jackman would be returning as Wolverine for the upcoming Marvel sequel Deadpool 3, you could almost hear the squeals of excitement from comic-book fans from across the world who took to social media to voice their shrills. As two beloved wise-cracking pop-culture icons, the duo’s collaboration has been met with praise from fans and industry experts, but we’re not too sure Jackman’s return to Marvel is too worthy of celebration.
It doesn’t take an industry insider to recognise that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) juggernaut appears to be running out of juice, with the once high-flying company unable to get back to the mammoth success Avengers: Endgame enjoyed in 2019. Just why this is happening is a broader question that has no simple answer. Still, it is becoming clear that after 14 years of industry dominance, audiences are simply becoming bored of the familiar Marvel formula.
The last time Jackman appeared as his iconic X-Men character Wolverine was amid the Marvel universe’s heyday in the late 2010s, starring in what appeared to be his final role as the character in the 2017 swan song Logan. A celebration of the character, as well as 17 years of the X-Men cinematic series, the film is often considered one of the best superhero movies of all time, even getting nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2018.
Passing away after the perfect narrative arc, following a brutal battle with his own double, Wolverine’s death was meaningful and somewhat profound, achieving a level of emotion that the wider MCU so often lacked. To bring him back in Deadpool 3 is to jump the shark, leaving wiggle room to potentially spoil the hard-hitting events of Logan by introducing the character back into the Marvel canon.
Though, from a more objective stance, the return of Jackman seems more like a step back for the MCU, which has already been criticised for leaning on nostalgia a little too heavily, with fans recently turning on Spider-Man: No Way Home for having its mind lodged in the past.
As the MCU tries to adapt and change to accommodate new audiences, a new face is what the series needs, particularly if it intends to go in a totally different direction with the X-Men. Keeping Jackman in the role concretes the series in the past instead of casting the MCU into the future, especially when there are so many actors waiting in the wings who are capable of taking on the mutton chops and adamantium blades of the protagonist.
What’s more, if Jackman is coming into the franchise to stay for the long term, then the series will have to take his age into consideration. In Logan, Jackman, who was 48 at the time, played an elderly version of the chiselled character, sporting a scruffy beard and eyes that have witnessed plenty of bloodshed. You can’t imagine that the future version of Wolverine will detract too much from this characterisation, and frankly, we don’t think this will gel well with a Marvel franchise that is aiming to modernise.
The glow of nostalgia only burns for so long, and eventually, fans crave something exciting, new and original. Indeed, Jackman’s return simply confirms Marvel’s dedication to delivering audiences the same thing time and time again.
