What Patrick Stewart could mean for Wolverine 3
Cue the rumors; Patrick Stewart has hinted that he will return as Charles Xavier once again in the highly anticipated Wolverine 3. The film will mark the end of Hugh Jackman’s run as the ol’ Canuckle Head and presumably the claws will be passed on and the franchise rebooted. Since the revelation of Jackman’s retirement from the X-Men franchise, fan speculation is running rampant; the most popular theory being that Fox will adapt the fan favourite Old Man Logan story arc into a movie. Stewart’s comments only add fuel to the fire of that rumor by suggesting to Screenrant that the script shows “a very different Charles Xavier than the one we have seen before”. He also suggested in an interview with Collider that he was excited to see an older version of Wolverine:
And the idea of an old Wolverine – I’m really looking forward to Hugh Jackman getting old. You know, damn him. He looks so great! So I’m hoping to see him covered in prosthetics, you know? And then he’ll make me look better if that’s the case.
There are very few conclusions for a speculating fan to draw besides the fact that we’re going to get to see Old Man Logan on the big screen.
Stewart has a point, Jackman still looks good.
Of course this theory poses many problems, most of them stemming from property rights, Fox does not own the rights to the Hulk and Hawkeye who are both crucial to the Old Man Logan story and also still at home at Marvel studios, and another key character who I will not disclose in order to avoid spoilers (all you fans out there know I’m talking about a prominent villain) is tied up with Sony. While cooperation between studios is always a possibility it is also highly improbable. Sony and Marvel have buried the hatchet so Spider-Man can finally take his place amongst the Avengers, but Fox has held firm from day one. They have shown no signs of reaching an agreement that would allow their characters to cross over; in fact Marvel had to find a loophole in their contract with Fox to use the characters Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Fox is so bad at sharing that their response was to ensure that Quicksilver made an appearance in X-Men: Days of Future Past a year before Age of Ultron hit theaters.
Whatever form Wolverine 3 takes, it’s very exciting to consider Stewart’s involvement. The potential for a reworked version of Old Man Logan with Charles Xavier playing a vital role is intriguing, and Stewart’s interviews may indicate that Fox is proceeding with an adaptation of the popular story arc despite the challenges of not having rights to all the characters. Of course all we can do now is speculate, but with the significance of Jackman’s retirement from Fox’s X-Men franchise, we do know that Wolverine 3 will ensure he goes out with a bang, and what better way than to tell an adaptation of such a well-loved story arc as Old Man Logan.
