Did Hugh Jackman manifest both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars thirteen years ago? Thanks to a recently resurfaced interview, conducted while Jackman was promoting The Wolverine in 2013, it sure seems that way. He truly was “Marvel Nostradamus.” Or is that Nerdstradamus? In this recently resurfaced clip, Jackman talked about how he believed one day, the stars would align, and the disparate Marvel characters owned by different studios would all come together on screen. A man ahead of his time, Jackman essentially predicted Avengers: Doomsdayand Secret Wars. Here’s what he had to say back in the day:
I believe, and maybe I’m being optimistic, I understand at Marvel they’ve got Avengers, they’ve got a lot of big things going on. But at some point, I just find it almost impossible to believe there’s not a way to bring Iron Man, all the Avengers characters, Wolverine, the X-Men characters, Spider-Man, and somehow get them in together. I’m in for it, I’m totally in for it, because that would be really exciting for fans across the board.
Back in 2013, the world of Marvel Comics on film was wildly divided. The MCU was emerging, thanks to the recent mega-success of Iron Man and The Avengers. Meanwhile, Sony’s Amazing Spider-Man reboot with Andrew Garfield was chugging along. Twentieth Century Fox had their X-Men films coming out, with Days of Future Past still on the horizon. Oh, and the Fantastic Four reboot (aka Fant4stic) everyone tries to forget ever happened was shooting. It seemed like the Marvel Universe on film would never look like it did in the comics, with the Avengers, X-Men, Spidey, and Fantastic Four together on screen. Too many different studios, too much red tape.
But cut to today, and Hugh Jackman’s prediction proved true. It took Disney purchasing Fox, and the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man movies fizzling out, necessitating that Sony work with Marvel Studios. But because of those things, Jackman’s prediction came to pass. And while he hasn’t confirmed his participation in Doomsday or Secret Wars, he’s almost certainly going to be in the latter (if not both). So thank you, Hugh, for manifesting a truly united Marvel Cinematic Universe all those years ago. Marvel should at least give you a bonus check for that.