There have been several Wolverine Easter eggs in the MCU, yet none of them seem to fit into Deadpool 3 bringing back Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

Despite Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine in Deadpool 3, the MCU’s multiple Wolverine Easter eggs still do not make sense. Five years after retiring from the role in Logan (2017), which bid farewell to the character in an emotional movie, Hugh Jackman will reprise his role as Wolverine, now as part of a larger universe. With multiverse and time travel involved, Jackman’s Wolverine return can still respect Logan’s ending, and it suggests that an actual 616 MCU Wolverine is not appearing anytime soon.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe was built around Iron Man and the Avengers, as Marvel Studios did not have the cinematic rights to Spider-Man, X-Men, and Fantastic Four. Now, 15 years after Iron Man, the MCU can count on almost all Marvel characters. This includes Wolverine, who has been loosely referenced a few times.

The MCU’s Wolverine Easter Eggs Have Been Confusing

There have been several Wolverine Easter eggs in the MCU, and none of them really reveals what Marvel is planning for the character. While Marvel Easter eggs in the MCU can sometimes be just a nod to a character or a comic book without any implications, Phase 4’s Wolverine references were way too specific to be just a throwaway nod to Logan. For example, She-Hulk’s bar fight Easter egg mentioned, “Man fights with metal claws in a bar brawl,” which could not have been more of a direct reference to Wolverine. She-Hulk also gave Nikki a Wolverine “SNIKT” moment, which was by far the biggest Wolverine reference in the MCU.

The problem, however, is that none of those Wolverine MCU hints seem to fit Marvel’s plans for the X-Men. Though mutants have existed in the MCU for a while in-universe, as revealed by Namor’s mutant powers in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, mutants are also seemly unknown to most people. For example, Ms. Marvel’s Bruno could only tell that Kamala’s powers stemmed from a “mutation,” as if neither he nor Ms. Marvel knew exactly what mutants were. If public mutants are a new thing at this point in the MCU timeline, then how can Wolverine be a public figure to the point people impersonate him? In addition, the MCU’s X-Men haven’t appeared.

Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine Makes The MCU’s X-Men Reboot More Complicated

The She-Hulk Wolverine teases, added to other MCU Wolverine Easter eggs such as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s Madripoor episodes, suggested that Marvel would introduce the 616 Logan soon. However, it was then announced that Hugh Jackman would return as Wolverine for Deadpool 3, an MCU movie set in Marvel’s Phase 5. Jackman is seemly playing the same Logan from the Fox X-Men movie timeline, with the actor making sure to point out that Deadpool 3 will not undo the events of Logan. Still, even with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine joining the MCU through the multiverse, it has now become way more difficult for a 616 Wolverine to appear.

Recasting Wolverine after two decades in which Hugh Jackman became synonymous with the character is a very complex challenge, one that would only really work with Wolverine as part of the MCU. Having a new Logan interacting with a larger Marvel universe could have been the key to setting a new Wolverine actor apart from Jackman’s portrayal, yet this can no longer work. Jackman’s Wolverine will soon be in the MCU, meaning that multiple dream Wolverine Marvel crossovers can happen without a recast. If it was difficult to replace Jackman as Wolverine after Logan, it will be much more difficult after the Multiverse Saga.

When Will The MCU’s New Wolverine Appear?

With Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine in Deadpool 3, the MCU will most likely keep the character for Avengers: Secret Wars. To rival Avengers: Endgame, a Secret Wars adaptation has to make the most of the multiverse concept and bring as many legacy Marvel characters as possible – as long as they fit into the story. Though nothing has been announced regarding Jackman’s future as Logan after Deadpool 3, the classic Wolverine appearing in Avengers: Secret Wars is too perfect of an opportunity for Marvel not to use it. In that scenario, a Wolverine recast for the 616 version of the character would only happen in the MCU’s Phase 7.

In fact, the MCU’s X-Men team will most likely only appear after Deadpool 3 and Avengers: Secret Wars. While mutants already exist in the MCU, it is too late to introduce the X-Men ahead of Avengers: Secret Wars, as there has been no mention of a team of mutants whatsoever up until this point. It is also possible that the aftermath of Avengers: Secret Wars rewrites some aspects of the MCU timeline, creating a slightly different universe in which the X-Men have been around as long as the Avengers, for example. This would also solve any potential plotholes regarding X-Men in the MCU.