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"Your mutant power isn't regeneration," an evil Wade Wilson tells Wolverine, "It's popularity." This bit of fourth-wall breaking in 2011's Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe is true: Marvel Comics will never ditch their clawed killer. We'd like to point out that, on the big screen, Wolverine has an even more powerful metapower; that is, an actor that will return to the role seemingly forever. And we're not just talking about Logan, either.

After years of Hugh Jackman's apparent willingness to return to the claws indefinitely, Dafne Keen recently made the same kind of assertion.

But before we talk about that, let's talk about Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. What began with a casting all the way back in 1999 has survived two decades later, as Jackman notably returned to the role in last year's Deadpool & Wolverine. During the course of the film, Deadpool jokes that Disney will keep Jackman in the role "until he's 90," a statement which Jackman himself later mentioned in an X/Twitter post that read: "See you in 2058."

Now this is certainly a joke (Dear God, we hope so), but a future in which the actor returns to the role is very much a real possibility. As recently as November of 2024, Kevin Feige said that Marvel Studios were "wondering where we can fit them in, and how fast." Interestingly, Feige himself was initially unsure of Logan's return, but as Empire online reported, eventually came around to the idea. We presume that at least part of that was Jackman's enthusiasm to return.

But as True Believers certainly know, Logan isn't Marvel Comics' only Wolverine, nor is Jackman the only actor willing to play a regenerative (and certainly popular) mutant for a very, very long time.

Ever since the end of Deadpool & Wolverine, fans have speculated on whether Dafne Keen will step into the role of the MCU's Wolverine. Her character, Laura Kinney AKA X-23, has taken on the mantle in the comics, so there's certainly a kind of logic to her doing so on the big screen as well. Speaking to The Acolyte actor at the 2025 Saturn Awards, The Direct asked what Keen would think of this prospect, to which she responded: "Well, can [both Laura and Logan] be there? Yeah? OK, good. If we're both there, I'd be really happy."

Follow that up with the fact that Keen recently told Moviefone she'd "play Laura for the rest of my life," and you've apparently got another actor willing to take the "until 90" joke quite seriously. And to be fair, she'd probably be financially wise to do so. In fact, we have to point out that 'bags and bags of money' is another metapower keeping ol' Wolverine alive, whether on the comic page or in a theater near you.

Deadpool & Wolverine (and Laura's introduction in Logan) are streaming on Disney+ now.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst
• Our weekly Marvel insider's column, Marvel Matters