In Deadpool 3, Hugh Jackman will don Wolverine's classic costume for an adventure that promises to take him and the Merc with the Mouth across the MCU's Multiverse. As for what comes next, we simply don't know.
There's a chance Jackman will stick around (at least until Avengers: Secret Wars) but we're guessing his stint will then end in order for a new actor to make James "Logan" Howlett a permanent fixture of the MCU as we enter what many believe will be dubbed the "Mutant Saga."
It's going to be a lot of fun seeing what Marvel Studios does with Wolverine, and whether it's a "savage" take on the hero or he's introduced as an "enemy of the state" (some hints for you), we're confident that any one of these stories would make for a must-see take on Wolverine's history, whether it's with Jackman or a new actor.
So, to check out what made the cut, all you need to do is click on the "Next" button below...
8. Enemy Of The State
After being brainwashed by HYDRA, Logan was sent on a number of missions that involved him hunting down some of his fellow superheroes and, tragically, it even meant killing another member of the X-Men at one point. When he does finally regain his senses, Wolverine heads off on a mission of revenge, using a Sentinel to take out a group of ninjas and taking on the seemingly unstoppable Gorgon in an epic, bloody battle.
Deadpool 3 will help renew interest in Wolverine but the character is still one we've spent an awful lot of time with in theaters.
Sending Logan on a rampage through the MCU and having him cross paths with everyone from Captain America to the Fantastic Four would make the debut of Jackman's successor a must-see event. It may also go a long way in cementing the place of the X-Men in a post-Avengers: Secret Wars Earth-616.
7. Mister X
Mister X is a wealthy businessman with a killing addiction who cuts a scar into his body for every life he takes. In all honestly, that side of things isn't too different from classic Batman villain Victor Zsasz.
Wolverine encounters the villain (who soon realises that he too is a mutant with the ability to psychically predict the next movement of his opponents) when they come face to face in a Madripoor fighting tournament Logan is forced to take part in. After initially being overpowered by X, the clawed hero goes into a berserker rage to stop him once and for all.
The Madripoor setting and tournament - no doubt featuring plenty of familiar faces - would make a great backdrop for a project like this following the island's all-too-brief introduction in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Perhaps this is where Jackman's Wolvie will go after being stranded on Earth-616!
6. Savage Wolverine
Savage Wolverine was written and pencilled by Frank Cho. Stranded in the Savage Land (an iconic Marvel location that no studio has taken advantage of as of yet), Logan takes on dinosaurs and mutates, ultimately finding an unlikely ally in Shanna the She-Devil.
However, the twist here is that rather than having Wolverine and Shanna become romantically attached during their adventure, they actually annoy the heck out of each other, a fun dynamic to explore on screen. This was a fun and pulpy tale with a unique take on the well-known mutant, thereby giving Marvel Studios some great material to work with.
A Savage Land setting also means that Wolverine could slash his way through monstrous enemies, showcasing what a powerhouse he is when those claws are unleashed. Another of those stories with the potential to unfold in any time period, what a way this would be to introduce the Savage Land!
5. Alpha Flight
Bringing Wolverine into the MCU as a member of Alpha Flight is a no-brainer in some respects, and when we meet the new Logan, it's entirely possible he'll be part of this team for a time before eventually agreeing to join Professor X's roster of mutant heroes.
Fox dropped the ball when it came to exploring Wolverine’s early years in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but his connection to this group is worth elaborating on. Plus, just imagine if this Wolverine were to cross paths with The Hulk when Bruce Banner, unable to control the Jade Giant at this stage, makes his way to Canada to try and hide out in the wilderness.
Featuring an eclectic cast of characters including the likes of Guardian, Northstar, Aurora, Sasquatch, Shaman and Snowbird, including Alpha Flight in a Wolverine movie or TV show would be a smart move. We'd also get the chance to see the clawed mutant teaming up with a very different group of superheroes, delving into a previously unexplored part of his pre-X-Men life in the process.
4. Get Mystique
Mystique was a major part of pretty much every single one of Fox's X-Men movies, and it seems the majority of fans have had quite enough of her at this stage. However, there are still ways for the MCU to reinvent the shape-shifter.
With that in mind, why not give her a supporting role in a future Wolverine project? In "Get Mystique," Logan hunts down the blue-skinned beauty after she betrays the X-Men, but as well as being a story that features the two mutants outmanoeuvring each other at every turn in the present, it also reveals some of their shared history in flashbacks to the 1920s.
In that, they went on a Bonnie-and-Clyde-esque robbery spree in Kansas, and this stands a chance of being a legitimately enjoyable way to explore the history of both Wolverine and Mystique in a period the MCU hasn't previously highlighted in a significant way.
3. Wolverine & Kitty Pryde
There were once plans at Fox for Kitty Pryde to get her own spinoff, but that fell by the wayside after the Disney merger. However, a future movie pairing Shadowcat with her father figure/mentor, Wolverine, gives Marvel Studios a great opportunity to highlight one of the strongest female characters in comics.
After Kitty follows her actual father to Tokyo where she believes he is being harassed by the Yakuza, Wolverine sets out to track down the young mutant. However, he finds that Kitty has been brainwashed by one of the samurai who once trained him; Ogun. By delving into the relationship between these two, we'd end up with a Wolverine movie that feels like a breath of fresh air.
Kitty, now more commonly known as Kate, is one of the best X-Men characters out there, and we're definitely optimistic that the hero is going to have a bright future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Don't forget, Ogun's existence in this shared world was, in fact, teased in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier...
2. New Mutants
No, we're not talking about the team of mutants who received the spotlight in the long-delayed movie which was finally released at the height of the pandemic. Instead, this one-shot story featured the Ultimate version of Wolverine tasked with perhaps his most difficult mission yet.
Starting off with a young boy who is baffled to discover that his family and neighbours are all missing, he heads off to school only to later be confronted by his girlfriend…however, she immediately disintegrates before him! After he flees to a cave, Wolverine catches up with the boy and explains that his new mutant power is to kill any organic life form in his vicinity.
Wolverine can cope with it because of his healing factor but has no other choice than to kill the teenager. It's a dark and upsetting story that emphasises what being a mutant can mean, and while it would probably be best to make this a small part of a larger story, we'd love for a moment like this to showcase Jackman's abilities.
1. Nitro
While the X-Men decided to keep out of the superhuman Civil War in the comic books, Wolverine still took it upon himself to track down the villain responsible for the explosion which killed sixty children at a nearby elementary school and around 600 people in the surrounding neighbourhood in Stamford, Connecticut: Nitro.
We've obviously had a "Civil War" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Nitro could instead be a mutant that Wolverine decides to hunt down for causing a similar disaster (one which perhaps takes out a young group of mutant superheroes rather than the New Warriors). Wolverine is always at his best hunting down an enemy, and this is a story with tonnes of potential.
This feels like a story Jackman's Wolverine would be particularly well-suited for, perhaps even touching on some of what James Mangold simply didn't have room for in 2017's Logan.