Deadpool & Wolverine didn’t reveal whether or not Hugh Jackman will return to the MCU. But should he? Or should the box office smash serve as his farewell to Logan? There’s a great case for him to return for more superhero fun, but there’s an equally compelling case for him to put away his adamantium claws for good. So we’re making both. In this piece Mikey Walsh argues why Deadpool & Wolverine should be Jackman’s last time as playing the iconic character. Meanwhile Eric Diaz made the case for why this should only be the start of Jackman’s MCU career.
The best stories end. A definitive conclusion provides a type of satisfaction, meaning, and purpose that open-ended or unfinished narratives can’t. That’s what Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine deserves, an ending worthy of his time in the role, because it’s one of Hollywood’s best, most important stories. And he’ll never get a better, more appropriate chance to close the book on Logan than Deadpool & Wolverine. The movie is one of the most successful films of all-time. It’s also arguably Jackman’s single best performance as the character. But the best reason for him to finally bid farewell to the iconic mutant for good is that it would bring his story full circle in the most fitting way. He’ll say goodbye as the center of the world’s most successful franchise, which only exists because of him.
There is no MCU without Fox’s X-Men movies. Before the original 2000 film no one knew if general audiences would turn out for superhero movies unless they starred the most famous comic book characters like Superman and Batman. Fox took a big risk on Marvel’s mutants. The studio didn’t even think people would accept comic-accurate superhero costumes back then. Without X-Men and its many sequels, the Marvel Cinematic Universe simply wouldn’t exist. At least not the way we know it. Fox’s franchise showed viewers would learn to care about lesser known comic book characters. The series’ many mistakes also provided lessons the MCU learned from to make something even better.
But none of that happens without Jackman, who was a last second replacement as Logan. In a franchise built around a team he was the anchor. Wade Wilson was 100% right in Deadpool & Wolverine when he said Wolverine was “THE X-Man” in his world. Jackman was so important he starred in the only three pure standalone X-Men Fox films.
Without him there’s no X-Men franchise, just one unimportant movie. Without the X-Men franchise there’s no MCU. It’s that simple. So what better place for his story to come full circle and actually end than in a record-setting MCU film where he gives an incredible performance? He’s at the top of the top. There’s nowhere else for him to go now as Wolverine but down. Even if he joins Secret Wars he’ll be just one character of many. He’ll never again own the MCU spotlight like does in Deadpool & Wolverine. Then the multiverse will reset and someone else will take over the role entirely.
Now’s the time—after a movie that not only finally let him wear his comics-accurate suit, but that fully captured why people love the character so much—for him to call it quits. Not because he doesn’t have more to give, or because we don’t want to see him again. (He does and selfishly we do.) The best of the best deserve the best ending, and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine isn’t just an all-time great pairing of actor and character. He didn’t just provide more than two decades of joy for audience members. He changed the course of cinematic history. He’s on the superhero movie Mount Rushmore. Conquering the MCU was the last thing left for him to do in the role. He deserves a superhero’s farewell.
Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is one of the best stories in Hollywood history. More than anyone he deserved to join the MCU, because there are few the MCU owes more than him. And he deserves the very best the MCU can give him. It’ll never give him anything better than a chance to go out when he’s still the best Wolverine.
Are you now convinced Hugh Jackman should finally say goodbye to Wolverine? Don’t make up your mind until you read Eric Diaz’s case for why this should just be the start of his MCU run.
