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Deadpool 3 Director Responds To Hugh Jackman Wolverine Return
Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy reacts to Hugh Jackman officially returning as Wolverine in Ryan Reynolds' upcoming sequel. Ever since 20th Century Fox was acquired by Disney, Marvel Studios have made it clear that the X-Men are coming to the MCU. However, Reynolds' Deadpool franchise will continue as the Merc with a Mouth will be integrated into the Avengers-based franchise. While Marvel Studios greenlit Deadpool 3 a few years ago, it wasn't until 2022 that the project started moving forward regarding the creative team. Reynolds is re-uniting with director Levy on Deadpool 3 after working together on Free Guy and The Adam Project.
While Marvel Studios aren't continuing with the rest of 20th Century Fox's X-Men universe, Deadpool 3 is bringing back one of the biggest stars from the franchise. After years of joking about wanting to do a crossover, Jackman and Reynolds will officially share the screen again as Wolverine and Deadpool, respectively. Jackman portrayed Wolverine for 17 years, which included multiple X-Men movies and his own trilogy, which ended with Logan in 2017. Despite Wolverine passing away at the end of the James Mangold-directed film, Deadpool 3 will still see Logan and Wade joining forces. However, exact plot details are being kept under wraps, even though Reynolds and Jackman "tried" to answer questions about canon concerns.
Despite everything Marvel Studios announced at Comic-Con and D23, Jackman's Wolverine news for Deadpool 3 became the biggest surprise of 2022 for the studio, and strong reactions on social media have followed. Following Reynolds and Jackman sharing the announcement, the Deadpool 3 director broke his silence on Logan and Wade sharing the screen together for the first time since X-Men: Origins Wolverine. Levy joked on Twitter that Stranger Things definitely helped him keep his mouth shut as he had to keep this a secret for weeks.
What Deadpool 3 Could Mean For Wolverine's Character
Since Deadpool 3 won't come out until 2024, the film isn't expected to start principal photography until some time in 2023. While it's unclear which Wolverine Jackman is playing, Marvel Studios has the opportunity to do many fun things with the character in Deadpool 3. The MCU didn't shy away from honoring the X-Men franchise when Patrick Stewart did a cameo as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Not only did Charles Xavier get his iconic yellow chair, but they also used pieces of the X-Men: The Animated Series theme song as a huge nod to the beloved show. If Deadpool 3 wanted to do something similar, they could finally have Jackman's Wolverine in the yellow costume.
No matter how Jackman returns as Wolverine, it's already been confirmed that it won't mess with his ending in Logan. At this point, Jackman will likely play a Wolverine Variant, which would tie in nicely with Marvel Studios' ongoing Multiverse Saga. While it's hard to imagine that Jackman is signing on to play Wolverine for multiple films, it wouldn't be shocking if he somehow factors into Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. Regardless of what they do with him after Deadpool 3, the fact that Jackman is back at all is a massive gift for the MCU, given his legacy with the character. Even if his appearance doesn't tie into The Multiverse Saga at all, it will be incredible to see Wade and Wolverine getting a proper team-up in Deadpool 3, especially after how things went down in X-Men: Origins Wolverine.
