5 Marvel Villains NARCOS Star Boyd Holbrook Could Be Playing In THE WOLVERINE 3
On Friday, we learned that Boyd Holbrook has landed the lead villain role in The Wolverine 3. Looking at that vague description though, five classic X-Men baddies stand out as the most likely possibilities...
That description sounds an awful lot like a slightly different take on the role played by the Red Skull in Old Man Logan, and when you look at the X-Men comic books, there are a lot of great villains who could be used in lieu of that Nazi despot. All of the characters listed below deserve the big screen treatment and they all share a history with Wolverine. Unfortunately, as Jackman's tenure nears its end, there's only room for one of them, but which of this lot has the Narcos star been cast as?
Well, these are who I believe are the most likely possibilities, so hit NEXT to find the top contenders...
5. Bastion
When public opinion started turning against mutants, Bastion was quick to step in and begin a covert war against them called Operation: Zero Tolerance on behalf of the US government. Unaware for most of his life that he was in fact a Super Sentinel, it was his mutant-termination directives which prompted the villain to go after the X-Men, and he succeeded in both taking over the X-Mansion and capturing Professor X (which could explain Patrick Stewart's role here).
It was only when his origins were revealed that Bastion was stopped, and while he's more of an X-Men villain than a Wolverine one, having Logan go after the guy who brought down the X-Men and kidnapped his mentor could work really well, especially if he isn't revealed to be a Sentinel until the final act in time for an epic battle.
4. Romulus
Holbrook may not exactly look the part of the massive Romulus, but let's face it, this wouldn't be the first time Fox has taken some liberties with a character's appearance! An ancient mutant with some very mysterious ties to Logan and every other lupine (Sabretooth, Wolfsbane, Daken, etc.), he was recently revealed to be the true mastermind behind Weapon X.
If Mangold were to scrap the many convoluted aspects of this villain, he could make for an interesting foe who brings together Wolverine and Sabretooth - Liev Schreiber has been rumoured to return to that role for a while now - for a team-up as unique as Logan and Hawkeye in the Old Man Logan comic book. Either way, there's definitely some potential with this villain if he's handled the right way, and I'm sure Holbrook would nail it.
3. Mr. X
Chances are you won't be familiar with Mr. X, but long before he was poorly brought back for the Dark Reign era, this villain was one of the best things to come out of Frank Tieri and Sean Chen's underrated Wolverine run. A telepath with the ability to predict his opponent's moves before they make them, Mr. X is a seriously f***ed up dude, and has soundly beaten both Logan and Taskmaster.
In fact, the only way Wolverine eventually managed to overcome him was to unleash a Beserker Rage, something we've all been dying to see on the big screen for a very long time now. With a few alterations to his story, Mr. X could very easily take on the role of the lead protagonist in this movie, and his presence means we'd be treated to some down and dirty REAL fights not hindered by CGI.
2. Dog
For a long time, many fans theorised that Dog was actually Sabretooth (even X-Men Origins: Wolverine seemed to be under that assumption when it made Sabretooth Logan's half-brother). However, it's recently been made apparent that that isn't the case, and Holbrook's villain being revealed as a member of Wolverine's family might be really cool if they handle it the right way, throwing in some flashbacks and making this a twist which actually matters.
Dog hasn't been used that well in recent years - time travel; 'Nuff said - so it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Fox to take some creative liberties with the character here, and those scars across his face would help make this a visually distinctive villain. That and the fact that his squabble with Wolverine would be personal would be fun to see.
1. Graydon Creed
Thanks to the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past, there are literally decades worth of mutant history we know nothing about. So, whose to say that Sabretooth and Mystique couldn't have hooked up at some point? Graydon Creed is their son, and after being abandoned by his parents as a child, the villain ended up developing a deep hatred for them and the mutant race.
If he were to be the big bad of this movie, I don't think it would hurt to make him a mutant, but the fact that he's human certainly wouldn't make him any less threatening (just look at William Stryker) and his involvement here could open the door to Schreiber's return which would be no bad thing. Plus, just look at that teaser image above...there's definitely something of a resemblance there, don't you guys think?
Tell us, which of these villains would you like to see Boyd Holbrook play in The Wolverine 3? Have we missed any perfect suggestions? As always, let us know your thoughts in the usual place.