It appears that audiences witnessed the final curtain call for Hugh Jackman's Wolverine last year with Logan. That probably would have been the end for a long while until Disney threw us a curve ball and acquired 20th Century Fox. That means the X-Men characters, including Wolverine, are now under the ownership of Disney, meaning they're fair play for the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward. Of course, it will probably be a while before we see any X-Men characters pop up in the MCU since this deal was fairly recent. It also hasn't quite been finalized and Marvel Studios is known for planning pretty far ahead.
No matter what, though, we'll eventually see Wolverine and the X-Men come back to the big screen again. It's just inevitable. He's as iconic a superhero as Batman or Spider-Man, and we've seen multiple actors interpret those characters in a short span of years, so Hugh Jackman's Wolverine isn't sacred either. A handful of names have already been tossed around the rumor mill, but we know of at least 10 actors who could do it better than anyone rumored to take over the adamantium claws. Here are five rumored actors to be the new Wolverine (and 10 people who could do it better!)
15 RUMORED: TOM HARDY
Tom Hardy is kind of Hollywood's It-Guy right now. He's rumored for just about every juicy acting role that gets announced, including James Bond, and yes, Wolverine. He's proven his mettle in dramatic parts with his breakout role as Eames in Inception, or as Charles Bronson in Bronson and Ivan Locke in Locke.
However, he's also proven he can be a bona fide action hero in films like Mad Max: Fury Road, and he's no stranger to comic book movies playing Bane in The Dark Knight Rises and Eddie Brock in the upcoming Venom. He kind of seems like the perfect choice, should he be available. The only real roadblock would be the long-term commitment that joining the MCU would involve, but that would be the case for any actor.
14 RUMORED: SCOTT EASTWOOD
Recently, in an interview with Screenrant, Scott Eastwood confirmed that he would 100% love to play Wolverine on the big-screen saying, "He's a renegade, a loose cannon, the kind of character that I love." He's built up a solid resume of action-packed and dramatic roles, including big budget flicks like the upcoming Pacific Rim: Uprising and The Fate of the Furious, but he's also no stranger to the comic book world.
Aside from being a huge fan of Wolverine, he recently had a role in Suicide Squad as Lieutenant GQ Edwards. He's also one of the names fans are most clamoring for to get the role. If this wasn't enough to convince you, Hugh Jackman has actually gone on record to say that Scott's father, Clint Eastwood, was a big inspiration for how he approached the character.
13 RUMORED: TRAVIS FIMMEL
Travis Fimmel has developed a huge following thanks to his role as Ragnar Lothbrok on the History Channel's Vikings, but he has yet to really make that breakthrough into movie stardom. He had the starring role in 2016's Warcraft: The Beginning, which underperformed both critically and financially, so he's still looking for the kind of role that will turn him into a household name.
Despite not being a name as big as Hugh Jackman, he seems to find his way onto nearly every list of possible new actors for Wolverine, thanks to the rage and emotion that we've seen in equal measure on Vikings, so there's no doubt that the Marvel Studios casting department has his name and number in a file somewhere for audition time.
12 RUMORED: DAFNE KEEN
Dafne Keen, who played X-23, a clone made from Wolverine's DNA in Logan, has been a rumored replacement for Hugh Jackman ever since he announced he would be leaving the part, and rumors only got more intense when audiences saw how awesome her character was in the movie. This solution works on a few levels. For one thing, it's a brand new character, so we don't have to worry about that "Yeah, but I can only see Hugh Jackman in the role" problem.
For another thing, she's only 13, so Marvel Studios could hold off on introducing her for as long as they want and she could still play the part for years. Really, the only major problem with this casting is that we'd get a Wolverine, but we still wouldn't get a Logan, a James Howlett, the character we've known and loved for decades.
11 RUMORED: HUGH JACKMAN
Oh, Hugh Jackman. Why must you toy with our fragile emotions so? First, he told us that his last appearance as Wolverine would be in Logan. Then he said that he would be open to playing the character again if he rejoined the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Then, when 21st Century Fox was purchased by Disney, he doubled back and said that he was definitely done with the character.
Now rumors have been stirred up again that Jackman will pick up the adamantium claws for the MCU thanks to Bucky Barnes himself, Sebastian Stan. He claimed that in a recent conversation he'd asked Jackman if he'd see him again soon. Apparently, he told Stan "a couple things," which Stan remained tight-lipped about, saying he might get in trouble with some people if he talked further.
10 BETTER: JAI COURTNEY
Jai Courtney has been popping up in a lot of major action franchises lately. From Eric in the Divergent series to Kyle Reese in Terminator: Genisys, John McClane's son in A Good Day to Die Hard, and of course as Captain Boomerang in Suicide Squad. At this point, he's proven his ability to play the slightly unhinged tough guy with a bad attitude, and that's Wolverine through and through.
He's got the attitude down, he has a gruff enough voice for the part, he has the right physique (other than not being 5'3") and he's even got the look and facial hair down for the part. Not only is he another popular choice for Wolverine among a lot of fans, but he's a fellow Aussie-born actor, just like Hugh Jackman.
9 BETTER: ANSON MOUNT
Anson Mount got his breakout role as Cullen Bohannon in AMC's western drama Hell on Wheels, but more recently he took the lead role as King Black Bolt in Marvel's Inhumans. This might be an issue for some people, but Inhumans didn't do all that well with critics or fans, and it only ran for eight episodes, so it would be a shame to waste Anson Mount's acting talent on one failed experiment.
Anson Mount has the ability to act with just facial expressions, he's capable of the kind of rage that Wolverine needs, and he has the gruff voice that the character is known for. At 45-years-old, he's one of the oldest actors on this list, but Wolverine has always been the oldest guy in the group, and Old Man Logan is the coolest version of the character anyway.
8 BETTER: LUKE EVANS
Luke Evans is already a pretty high-profile actor, although he hasn't yet taken a role that has made him an iconic one. He's played those similar dangerous roles like Dracula in Dracula Untold, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Owen Shaw in the Fast and the Furious series, and if that wasn't good enough, he even already played the voice of Wolverine for an episode of Robot Chicken.
If they're bringing Wolverine into the MCU, then it's a safe bet they'll want a proven talent that can bring the character to life the same way Hugh Jackman did for over a decade. If that's the case, Luke Evans is without a shadow of a doubt one of the safest bets they could make in that particular regard.
7 BETTER: AIDAN TURNER
Aidan Turner hasn't really become a household name yet, although fans of Being Human already know that he'd be an excellent candidate for Wolverine. He showed off his dramatic acting chops as Ross Poldark in Poldark, and he's even performed in big budget productions as Kili in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy.
Aidan Turner is currently a star on the rise, which is the perfect position to be in to take the role of Wolverine. He's currently at the top of the list for the next James Bond after Daniel Craig leaves the role, but given the choice between the two, Wolverine would probably be the more reliable and profitable job. James Bond is iconic, but the series doesn't have the same solid track record as the MCU.
6 BETTER: SCOTT CAAN
The son of the legendary actor James Caan, Scott Caan is a favorite as the new potential Wolverine for a lot of reasons, but one of the big reasons is that at 5'5", Scott Caan is the closest in height to the actual comic book Wolverine who stands at only 5'3". Hugh Jackman is 6'2", as are most of the names thrown around as the next Wolverine, and most of the Avengers are pretty tall as well.
Maye it's time that short guys actually get an awesome hero that they can relate to, and Wolverine is already written to be the short guy who's nearly unbeatable. Scott Caan has proven his dramatic chops, and he has the kind of comedic timing that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for.
5 BETTER: JASON MOMOA
Aquaman as the new Wolverine? Yeah, we'll admit the odds aren't good unless the DCEU completely falls apart and WB starts over from scratch, which despite their missteps is unlikely to happen. But just think about a world where Jason Momoa hadn't been cast as Aquaman. If you had to cast that guy as any superhero, who would be the first one to come to mind? Wolverine, of course!
Also, is there really a reason that he can't play a character in both universes? Josh Brolin is playing Thanos and Cable, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was in Suicide Squad and Thor: The Dark World. There's no real reason that Jason Momoa couldn't fill both roles if both studios were willing to do some creative scheduling.
4 BETTER: TAYLOR KITSCH
We know what you're thinking. The guy who fans and critics alike hated so much as Gambit, and you want to give him Wolverine too?! Well, let's be fair here. X-Men Origins: Wolverine was almost 10 years ago now, and since then, Taylor Kitsch has more than proven he has the ability to act when given a good script to work with. With roles in critically acclaimed works like True Detective, Waco, and Lone Survivor, we think he's more than made up for his five-minute stint as Gambit.
That's not even to mention that, with the extra decade on him, he looks like a way better fit for Wolverine these days than he ever did for Gambit. At 37-years-old, he's older than Hugh Jackman was when he took the part but young enough that he could continue the role in the MCU for some time.
3 BETTER: JENSEN ACKLES
Jensen Ackles is most well-known for his role as Dean Winchester on Supernatural, but as it will soon be entering its 14th season, the show can presumably go on for only so much longer before Ackles and his co-star Jared Padalecki need to find new major roles to take. Padalecki has also had his name thrown around a lot for the new Wolverine, but at 6'4", he's just a bit too tall for the part.
Jensen Ackles isn't exactly short at 6'1", but he's got the gruff voice down, the angry demeanor, and he's put the kind of berserker rage that Wolverine is known for on display many times throughout the course of Supernatural. At 41, he's also not too old to continue with the part for a long time to come.
2 BETTER: CHARLIE HUNNAM
Charlie Hunnam is another popular choice to replace Hugh Jackman as the next Wolverine. His name gets thrown around a lot for the role, and now that Sons of Anarchy has ended, the actor has struggled to find a suitable film or television role to keep his name in the news, but that's not for any lack of acting capability.
He's taken on heroic roles like King Arthur in Arthur: Legend of the Sword, he's played the dramatic and the deadly as Jax Teller in Sons of Anarchy, and he's performed well in big budget Hollywood films like Pacific Rim. He's definitely got the physique to play Wolverine already, he just might need to dye his hair a bit darker and he'll be the very picture of comic book Wolverine.
1 BETTER: RICHARD ARMITAGE
Richard Armitage is a phenomenal actor with distinguished roles from Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood to Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit: Trilogy. It's hard to ignore the fact that he has a very Hugh Jackman look about him, he has a great physique for the part, and he's even already playing the part of Wolverine in the upcoming podcast Wolverine: The Long Night, so you can be sure that he definitely has the voice for the role.
Wolverine: The Long Night is an official Marvel production so it could even be considered a testing ground to gauge audience's reaction to Richard Armitage in the role. At 46 years old, he's only three years younger than Hugh Jackman, so it wouldn't be as long-term as some of the other choices, but what a ride those few years would be!