The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a well-oiled machine, one that consistently puts out new content in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. There are a ton of upcoming Marvel movies in development, including Jake Schreier's X-Men film. And a new rumor about that film is that a major member of the team won't be included: Wolverine. Although I honestly get the logic.
Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order have been not-so-patiently waiting for mutants to join the fun. Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox finally opened the door for this, but the studio hasn't rushed to get out a new X-Men movie. According to scooper MTTSH (via CBM), the Thunderbolts* director isn't going to include Wolverine in his developing blockbuster. I have to assume this is thanks to the legacy of Hugh Jackman as that character, a role that he's still playing to this day.
Finding another actor to replace Jackman as Wolverine seems like a herculean task, as he's become synonymous with Logan over the years. He returned to the role in Shawn Levy's Deadpool & Wolverine, which broke records at the box office. So it's probably a smart choice to keep the clawed mutant out of the developing X-Men movie, which also allows the Greatest Showman actor to play it sometime in the future.
Deadpool 3 joked that Hugh Jackman would be playing Wolverine until he's 90 years old, and while that's an exaggeration the sentiment isn't wrong. The threequel was a huge success, largely thanks to the 57 year-old actor returning to his signature character. Marvel likely wants to keep him around, but he wouldn't necessarily fit in with a younger group of mutants in the developing X-Men movie.
If another actor was cast as Wolverine they'd have some huge shoes to fill. So if this rumor about the X-Men movie leaving Logan out is true, it does make sense. Although there are some popular fan castings for the role, with some wanting Daniel Radcliffe to take up the claws. For his part, the Harry Potter alum doesn't seem interested.
The next Marvel movie hitting theaters is Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31st as part of the 2026 movie release list. There are rumors Sadie Sink is playing Jean Grey in that project, but we'll have to see if the beloved X-Men member actually appears.
