Hugh Jackman might be getting into fighting shape to reprise the Wolverine role for one more time in The Wolverine 3, but many don’t know much concerning what the project could look like. Director and co-writer James Mangold has been keeping mum about the third film, while Jackman has teased out a few clues.
Jackman teased by name Old Man Logan comics. Set in a post-apocalypse wasteland the comics are super problematic due the rights to a majority of the characters, which Fox doesn’t have access to. This means that a complete overhaul to the source material needs to happen for this to make sense and allow Fox to use that story.
This could be the perfect excuse to bring back the production to Australia, using the badlands as the backdrop of the wasteland future. The comic did take direct inspiration from the Aussie made Mad Max films, which I don’t think is such a terrible thing as visually it would be drastically different from anything we’ve seen with the X-Men franchise.
Our only other known addition to the cast is Patrick Stewart‘s Charles Xavier, who will likely take the place of Logan’s sidekick Hawkeye. It remains to be seen if Xavier will be there in front of him or just apart of Logan’s inner-thoughts, potentially playing the role moral conscience for him in this ruined world. Perhaps, helping him to reflect on his past to mentor him in this troubled new landscape or the two partaking in one final mission for redemption.
While there has been some hints and speculation that Liev Schreiber‘s Sabretooth will be back, but they need a bigger villain to end on. Omega Red is his most notorious nemesis that has yet to make it on screen and if not now, it seems a huge oversight on their part. Red could easily take the place of Hulks, with Sabretooth taking the role meant for Red Skull, the two villains are tough enough that they’d be able to survive anything including a mutant or worldwide nuclear holocaust.
If nukes were indeed thrown around most of the survivors would likely be mutants, and the powerful ones would seize leadership positions be that democratic pockets of society or the more primitive warlord dictatorships. I don’t it would be terrible taking inspiration from the Fallout game series, Walking Dead, and The Road as well, since they seem to have grounded takes on the collapse of society.
We’ve been promised a retelling or rebooted vision of the Weapon X Program, that seemingly might happen in Deadpool as Wade Wilson’s time in the group is sort of teased in trailers. However, flashbacks or callback scenes in Wolverine 3 could finally retcon Origins, which producers have confirmed is no longer apart of canon. This would be important to have his time in Team X (the black ops team linked to the Weapon X Program) rebooted to include a connection to the Soviet Union’s own attempt to create their super-soldier with Omega Red during the Cold War. Not to mention Sabretooth’s inclusion in that time in Logan’s life, this could connect all three to each other. They might as well fix this before Hugh Jackman retires, because I know fans and myself want that redone badly. This could give James Mangold a good excuse to shoot in Eastern Europe or set some of the film in Soviet controlled wintery streets/military bases.
There’s a key flashback of Logan killing the entire X-Mansion thinking they were villains, which could be replaced with him killing his Team X members or brutalizing civilians. I doubt they have Logan in his last film killing beloved mutant heroes.
It’s starting to sound like a testosterone overload, let’s change that.
Wolverine has had plenty of conflicts and team-ups with many ladies in the comics. Betsy Braddock aka Psylocke has connections to Wolverine, Sabretooth, along with Omega Red’s criminal handlers. Her chances of being apart of the film might have been altered due to the inclusion in X-Men: Apocalypse played by Olivia Munn, taking cues from her villainous origins in the comics being one of the Four Horsemen.
However, she’d be badass and would fit nicely into this story potentially take the part meant for Spider-Girl.
A replacement could be his protege and partner Kitty Pryde aka Shadowcat, as the two teamed-up a short comic series. I have doubts since this would be set so far in the future that Ellen Page would be asked to return, considering that Fox is now hellbent on recasting these roles.
Kitty learned sword and fighting skills from Logan, the pair fighting villains together on occasion. I could see her becoming an older tech-wiz/scavenger (similar to Forge?), who is recruited by Wolverine and Xavier to help takedown Omega Red.
The only problem I see bringing Kitty back would be the whole time-travel aspect which was already used, rehashing that might make the film feel lazy.
It wouldn’t be terrible to maybe try to go with Psylocke instead, but Kitty’s powers could help when faced the tentacled vampire Omega Red.
Other supporting characters set in the future that could be sprinkled into the film might include the introduction to Nathan Summers aka Cable and even the return of Bishop, taking the place of Punisher and Daredevil.
Old Man Logan could also be the perfect setting to use The Reavers led by Lady Deathstrike (possibly alive in the altered timeline) and Donald Pierce, they could take the place of Kingpin and his goons. Oddly enough, they’re made-up of Aussie characters that Logan has brutalized. They would make an excellent warlord gang for Wolverine to face-off. I could see Omega Red take the place of the lesser known Pierce.
These are just ideas, we’ll know more concrete things about the film in the coming months and it’s expected Fox will have a panel at Comic-Con 2016, this is just how they could possibly adapt Mark Millar’s Old Man Logan with the characters they have access to, as many of the character rights are securely at Marvel Studios and not at Fox.