Marvel is finally bringing mutants to life on the big screen again. After gaining the rights to use the X-Men back in 2019, the studio is expected to introduce the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first mutants in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The upcoming film has long been rumored to feature an appearance from Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, and that rumor was seemingly confirmed in the second Multiverse of Madness trailer. Now, a new Marvel leak suggests that Professor X may not be the only X-Men character who appears in this year’s Doctor Strange sequel.
The Leak — Joseph Deckelmeier of The Illuminerdi made waves this past weekend when he tweeted that none other than Wolverine will appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, while Patrick Stewart is expected to return as Professor X, the Marvel leaker noted that the version of Wolverine he’s heard will appear in Multiverse of Madness will not be played by Hugh Jackman.
It’s worth being skeptical here. This is the first we’ve heard that Wolverine could appear in Multiverse of Madness, and The Illuminerdi’s track record isn’t strong enough to justify immediately taking a rumor of this magnitude as fact.
That said, this purported leak does raise the possibility that Multiverse of Madness will play an even larger role in Marvel’s X-Men plans than fans have been led to believe.
More Mutants — As of now, no information has been provided regarding Wolverine’s possible role in Multiverse of Madness. Even if he is in it, that makes it virtually impossible to guess what the point of the character’s presence in the Doctor Strange sequel would be. Considering just how many alternate realities the film is expected to visit, it’s possible Wolverine is just someone the film’s central characters briefly encounter during their multiversal travels.
If a cameo happens and Wolverine really isn’t played by Hugh Jackman, there’s a chance Marvel plans on using Multiverse of Madness to gauge just how open comic book fans are to a new actor’s take on the beloved X-Men character. Jackman received a lot of praise for his performance as Wolverine, and ever since Logan was released in 2017 there’s been talk about whether it would be best for Marvel to leave the character alone for a while out of respect to the actor’s work.
A brief Wolverine cameo in Multiverse of Madness could therefore be Marvel’s way of determining if certain characters from Fox’s X-Men movies should be left alone for now.
The Inverse Analysis — Ever since Marvel seemingly confirmed the presence of Professor X in Multiverse of Madness, fans have been busy speculating about what other surprise cameos the studio may be hiding in the Doctor Strange sequel. A cameo from a new actor as Wolverine would certainly be one of the few surprises even more shocking than a return appearance from Patrick Stewart.
Having both Wolverine and Professor X make their debuts in the same film would also do a lot to establish the existence of mutants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even if the first versions of the characters we meet are variants from alternate realities. That’s assuming, of course, that Wolverine really does appear in Multiverse of Madness, but that’s just an intriguing rumor for now.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on May 6, 2022.
