Fans have been patiently waiting for Deadpool 3 to start becoming a reality. The process has been slow; writers were hired, a director came aboard, and Ryan Reynolds himself confirmed the project was real. However, the anticipation for the movie recently blew up to a whole other level thanks to a surprise announcement: Hugh Jackman will be returning as Wolverine “one more time.”
Needless to say, the announcement all but broke the internet. Fans were ecstatic; other celebrities even voiced their reaction to the news. Sadly, however, this monumental moment won’t be happening until September 6, 2024. That’s a good chunk of time.
So how will fans cope in the meantime? Well, by feasting on every scrap of Wolvie content possible, of course—including some recent Easter eggs referencing the character in Disney+‘s She-Hulk.
Another Wolverine Nod in She-Hulk
Warning - the rest of this article contains spoilers for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Episode 8.
There was a lot to take in during She-Hulk: Attorney at Law's eighth episode. For example, it featured the return of Charlie Cox's Daredevil, a brand new hero in Leap-Frog, and more creepy Todd.
However, right before the installment's final scene at the Gala, one of the characters made a pretty significant tease to Wolverine.
The moment came when an excited Nikki Ramos (played by Ginger Gonzaga) came out of Jen's room with makeup brushes in between her fingers, ready to get her friend ready for the Gala. However, the way she held the brushes was very clearly in reference to Wolverine's iconic blades.
In fact, some fans even claim she made an audible 'Snikt' sound (the sound effect used to represent Wolverine unsheathing his claws) as she jumps in.
This isn't the first time that Logan has been alluded to in this series.
Back during the credits art at the end of episode 5, Wolverine even got his own shoe design—one that seems to be in Pug's collection.
Even further back in She-Hulk's run, the iconic mutant had another tease. On the sidebar of an online article, one headline read: "Man fights with metal claws in bar brawl."
What Does Wolverine's Future Look Like?
So do all of these references suggest Wolverine is already active in the MCU? No, not quite; that would be the wrong takeaway. At the end of the day, it’s all just fun meta-jokes—something She-Hulk tends to have a lot of.
As for Mutants and the MCU, despite a blatant tease of their future in Ms. Marvel, there doesn’t seem to be a clear plan to introduce them at all in the Multiverse Saga. Marvel is almost certainly saving their adaptations of the characters for what comes after Avengers: Secret Wars.
When it comes to Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, people shouldn’t go in expecting him to be the MCU’s version of the character. They probably had a hard enough time convincing him to return in the first place; this could easily be his last time.
On top of that, they’ve also confirmed Marvel Studios will not be touching the events of Logan—which almost makes it certain that fans will be following an alternate Variant of the character when he hits screens on September 6, 2024.
After all, the timeline continuity of the Fox X-Men universe never made any sense, to begin with. So honestly, Deadpool 3 could do almost anything they wanted.
For those hoping for a new Wolverine to pop up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, his time will come; maybe the next set of projects will be called the Mutant Saga.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is now streaming on Disney+.
