Is Wolverine in Avengers: Doomsday? Hugh Jackman Issues Coy Response When Asked if He’ll Have to Play the X-Men Superhero Again, Joking Marvel Has Enough to Build an AI Version

Hugh Jackman has issued a coy response when asked flat out if he’ll have to reprise his role as Wolverine in the MCU, after last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine was such a big hit.

As fans await what seems at this stage to be the inevitable confirmation that Jackman will play Wolverine once again in either next year’s Avengers: Doomsday or 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars, the actor insisted on The Graham Norton Show that he’s done saying “never.”

Jackman famously vowed that he was done playing Wolverine after Logan came out in 2017, but changed his mind for what was then Deadpool 3. It proved to be a smart decision, with Deadpool & Wolverine going on to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time after making over $1 billion at the global box office.

Now, the idea of two of the MCU’s most popular and bankable stars and characters not being in either Doomsday or Secret Wars seems ridiculous, but for now both Marvel and Jackman are keeping their cards close to their chest.

“Maybe,” Jackman said with a smirk when Norton asked him if he was going to play Wolverine again. “I am never saying ‘never’ ever again. Because I did mean it when I said ‘never’ until the day when I changed my mind. But I really did, for quite a few years, I meant it.”

Norton then asked if Jackman had got to the point now where Marvel could use AI to generate Wolverine’s body and just plonk the 57-year-old actor’s head on top. “A hundred percent,” he joked, in response. “I think I’ve done 10 films, so I think they’ve got enough in there!”

The Most Surprising Avengers and Marvel Characters Not Announced for Doomsday

Jackman’s co-conspirator in all this, Ryan Reynolds, is heavily rumored to be set to play Deadpool again, with multiple reports indicating he’ll finally cross paths with the Avengers. Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal was heavy on veteran X-Men actors. Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, and James Marsden are all set to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, confirming the X-Men are in the film in a big way. Grammer famously played Beast in the Fox X-Men franchise before making his MCU debut via The Marvels’ post-credits scene. Stewart played Charles Xavier/Professor X in the X-Men films before appearing briefly in the MCU via Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as a member of the Illuminati. McKellen, who played Magneto, has not yet appeared in the MCU. Neither has Cumming, who played Nightcrawler, Romijn, who played Mystique, nor Marsden, who played Cyclops. It begs the question: is Avengers: Doomsday secretly an Avengers vs. X-Men movie?

Neither Jackman nor Reynolds’ names were on the long list of stars confirmed to appear in the superhero extravaganza (Channing Tatum, who played Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine, did make the cut). But Marvel has said more is to come, and Reynolds himself has teased an involvement of some kind.

Perhaps all we’re looking at here is a fun cameo for the duo, as opposed to a more involved role that proves crucial to the plot. Maybe this is more about setting up Secret Wars, or the upcoming X-Men films. Either way, it seems Deadpool and Wolverine are heading back to the MCU.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.