Jeremy Allen White as Wolverine: is recasting Logan right?

Jeremy Allen White is in talks with Marvel Studios, or has at least had talks with them, about becoming the next Wolverine, according to industry insider Jeff Sneider. If the report is true, I think it's the right move: Marvel is in the middle of recasting the rest of the X-Men, so this is the moment to recast Logan too.

That doesn't mean I'm writing off Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Jackman returned to the role in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), starring opposite Ryan Reynolds, and there are plenty of reasons his version sticking around would be awesome. But the timing matters, and a solo Wolverine film could be how Marvel brings a new Logan in.

Why Hugh Jackman staying in the MCU after Secret Wars seemed believable

Since Jackman's return was confirmed, fans have asked how long he'd stay. Deadpool & Wolverine went on to do very well at the box office, and then came the notable reaction from Kevin Feige: let's get the two of them in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

That was reported on the back of Feige being wowed by their on-screen chemistry. But I think the other thing he was probably wowed by was the bottom line. Deadpool & Wolverine outshone many of its counterparts during the Multiverse Saga at the box office.

That's why it was believable when industry insider sources kept saying Jackman was sticking around for the MCU's future after Secret Wars, alongside Reynolds' Deadpool. If the first Deadpool and Wolverine movie made that much money, a second one, which would technically be Deadpool 4, could certainly be counted on to make just as much or maybe more. Now that Marvel has all the rights, it could throw an unlimited ensemble of X-Men and X-Force onto the team.

The hang-up: recasting the X-Men but keeping the old Wolverine

There was one little hang-up, and it came up with the newest casting for Iceman in the MCU. If Marvel is recasting all of these X-Men characters and truly closing the door on the returning Fox X-Men, either by killing them off in Doomsday and Secret Wars or by consolidating everything into one singular MCU timeline, wouldn't this be the time to cast a new Wolverine?

Wouldn't waiting until after the first or second saga has gone by make it even harder to bring a new Wolverine into the mix? Marvel Studios may think so too, and if this report is true, that's exactly what the studio is planning.

The same logic reaches beyond the X-Men. If Chris Evans is out of the MCU, I think we should get another Steve Rogers as Captain America. And I think with every character Marvel chooses to recast, a new Tony Stark becomes more inevitable, because to get the true MCU experience, we need everybody in the sandbox. The MCU is already Iron Man-less and possibly Cap-less after Avengers: Secret Wars, and Wolverine follows the same logic: if Sneider's report holds, he's next.

Jeremy Allen White would be a different take on Logan

Jeremy Allen White is about as different an actor from Hugh Jackman as I can think of, so I think casting him would give us a different take on Logan and a different representation of the character. He's maybe a bigger name than I would have liked to see; a relative unknown is what I would have gone for. But I don't hate it at all, and I could definitely see him as Wolverine.

Recasting Wolverine now avoids a DCU-style unclean break

I know a second Deadpool and Wolverine movie could have been a $2 billion movie for the studio, and we know another Deadpool is being written. But Marvel has to take this opportunity to recast Wolverine, for no other reason than this is when the studio is doing the recasts.

It almost feels like James Gunn as he waded into the DCU. He redid Suicide Squad and brought some of those characters over, and then the first season of Peacemaker wasn't canon, but then it was. It wasn't the clean break or the reboot that we expected.

I also think it's weird that we just heard that they cast Robin and we know we're getting a new Batman, yet the next Robert Pattinson Batman film is in the works.

Close the door on the Fox X-Men while Deadpool stays

Marvel Studios has an opportunity to use Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in Doomsday and Secret Wars, if that's the intention, and it seems like he'll be in Doomsday given what we've seen from the promo. Then make that it. Close the door on all of these returning Fox X-Men.

Ryan Reynolds can stick around in the MCU as Deadpool and line up with some new X-Force and mutant characters from our timeline. That won't include Cable: Josh Brolin isn't planning on returning to the role. So Deadpool can team with some X-Force members and maybe some fringe mutants who aren't introduced during the X-Men saga.

Could Marvel give Jeremy Allen White a Wolverine solo movie?

Maybe Jeff Sneider is off on this one, and maybe Jeremy Allen White won't be cast as Wolverine. But I think the report definitely implies those talks have already been set in motion.

He may not be a member of the initial X-Men cast, either. I could definitely see Marvel Studios doing a solo Wolverine movie in conjunction with the X-Men movie and then linking that character into the team. I think Marvel should make a Storm movie, but that's just me. A Wolverine solo film is something I could see Marvel doing for sure.

A younger Wolverine fits the new X-Men cast

If the love triangle between Cyclops, Jean Grey and Wolverine is going to be anything on screen, could you have Hugh Jackman playing that out with the new cast? Yes, but I feel like that would be a little creepy.

A younger Wolverine, aged closer to the rest of the cast Marvel is putting together, leaves the door open for them all to grow in the roles and age together. That avoids a huge discrepancy between some of the oldest actors and some of the youngest, especially on a team like the X-Men. Marvel is recasting a new X-Men team for the MCU, so why not rip the band-aid off and recast Wolverine? I think recasting is the right move in the moment.