The Last Thing the MCU’s X-Men Need is a Brand-New Wolverine (Not Yet)

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Fans are excited about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially the possibility of seeing a school for mutants. This could include the original X-Men team – Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, Iceman, and Angel – and their leader, Professor Charles Xavier. While characters from the old X-Men movies are expected to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, rumors suggest we’ll also meet a new version of Jean Grey, played by Sadie Sink, in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

This would be a huge step forward, marking the first X-Men character outside of the Fox universe fully integrated into the MCU. It also hints that the next generation of X-Men will likely be portrayed by actors in their early twenties, which is great news. However, despite everything, the MCU shouldn’t introduce a new Wolverine character in the near future.

The MCU’s X-Men May Be a Batch of Young Adults

Sadie Sink is 23 years old, and while any age actors could play the X-Men, reports suggest Marvel might be looking to cast young adults as the team. This could be to keep the franchise going for a long time or to appeal to a younger audience who can more easily relate to the characters.

Casting a young actor as Wolverine would also be a big mistake. It’s easy to forget that Wolverine isn’t just a few decades older than the other X-Men—he’s actually over 200 years old, and his aging is incredibly slow, which is why he appears to be in his 40s.

It’s going to be incredibly difficult to find an actor to replace Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and it’s hard to predict what Marvel will do with the character. However, Marvel has a unique chance to start their X-Men story with a younger Wolverine, and Dafne Keen, who played Laura, could be the perfect way to do it.

Dafne Keen, Not Hugh Jackman, Should Be the MCU’s Wolverine

Bringing back an age-appropriate Wolverine could create an opportunity to reintroduce Dafne Keen as Laura, especially if the X-Men are portrayed as young adults in their 20s – she’s currently 21. However, making this happen wouldn’t be simple, and it might not be very fulfilling unless audiences strongly loved Logan and Deadpool & Wolverine and really want to see Wolverine again in the next X-Men movies.

Ideally, the Marvel Cinematic Universe shouldn’t make Laura (or any other X-Men characters from the Fox films) a permanent part of its world. Laura has already been brought in once through a multiversal storyline, with her appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine, and repeating that approach would feel repetitive.

I’m really hoping Deadpool & Wolverine isn’t the end of the road for those older Marvel movies like Fantastic Four, Blade, and Elektra. It feels like Marvel might still bring back elements from the Fox universe. If Channing Tatum could be Gambit in a future Avengers film, why not bring back Dafne Keen as Laura? Though, honestly, I’m mostly excited about the possibility of seeing Hugh Jackman as Wolverine again!

Ideally, Marvel won’t feel the need to immediately include Wolverine’s daughter, Laura, just to have a connection to the existing X-Men films, even though Dafne Keen (who played Laura) is around the same age as Sadie Sink. It would be better if Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey and the rest of the MCU’s X-Men were fresh starts, not tied to alternate universes or previous franchises.

Characters like Laura, X-23, and Wolverine all stem from the original Logan, who was born in the 19th century. He typically appears to be between 40 and 50 years old, regardless of his actual age, and this holds true even when other X-Men are much younger. This concept was hinted at in X-Men: Apocalypse, where Logan could appear middle-aged despite being centuries old, allowing him to act as a mentor to the younger, less experienced team members.

Wolverine Deserves a Break

It’s not unusual to see an older Wolverine guide younger members of the X-Men. A good example of this was in the animated series X-Men: Evolution, which featured the X-Men as teenagers.

This approach could be a great way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to introduce the X-Men. However, aside from characters like Laura or Logan, the MCU shouldn’t focus too heavily on Wolverine and repeat the mistakes made in the previous X-Men films from Fox.

After playing Wolverine for 26 years and essentially being the face of Fox’s X-Men films, Hugh Jackman deserves a break. While he’s been amazing, fans will need to accept a new actor in the role eventually. However, it’s even more important right now to focus on reimagining and accurately portraying other key X-Men characters like Jean Grey.

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2026-03-09 04:10