In 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine, a different actor played Wolverine for the first time in over two decades when Justice League star Henry Cavill made a surprise appearance as "Cavillrine."
Heading into Avengers: Doomsday, however, Hugh Jackman is expected to continue playing the MCU's one and only James Howlett.
Will that or Avengers: Secret Wars serve as his final send-off? We all thought 2017's Logan was the end of the line for Jackman's clawed mutant, and nearly a decade on, the role still belongs to him.
While the expectation is that the Australian actor will pass the role on to someone else for Marvel Studios' X-Men reboot and beyond, don't be so sure. In a new interview with PBS, Jackman strongly hinted that, as of right now, he's going nowhere.
"I'm 57. I'm doing it till I'm 90. So, you know, I'll do a little time capsule for them," he said of his potential successor, adding, "I'm not going to say anything to whoever plays him, 'cause no one said anything to me, which I really am thrilled about. And I had not read the comics, so I was just coming to it fresh. And I learned a lot over the years."
"Of course, I've got my own take, but it must be melding in with me in some way," Jackman continued. "I hope someone just comes in and does whatever the f*** they want and makes it their own."
Based on this and past rumours, there's no reason to suspect Jackman won't continue playing Wolverine heading into the MCU's next Saga. Whether he'll be down for a starring role in another X-Men franchise and potential spin-offs remains to be seen.
For now, we know there are big plans for his Logan Variant in Avengers: Doomsday. We shared some additional details on that earlier this week, so if you're not too concerned about spoilers, find out more here.
Avengers: Doomsday stars Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Mabel Cadena, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, India Rose Hemsworth, and Wesley Holloway all make their Avengers franchise debuts.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, with Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
The Russo Brothers direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. The movie is produced by Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, and Jonathan Schwartz, with Callum McDougall serving as executive producer.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18.