Early last year, while on the press tour for X-Men: Days of Future Past, actor Hugh Jackman told us that his Wolverine would indeed be making an appearance in the follow-up X-Men: Apocalypse, and that the sequel would probably shoot back-to-back with the next (and now final) standalone Wolverine movie so Jackman wouldn’t have to stop and start his rigorous training process all over again. Shortly afterwards, though, Jackman became more coy when asked about whether he’d have a role in the 80s-set Apocalypse. Reports nevertheless swirled that Wolverine would have at least a cameo in the pic, and now it appears that confirmation has arrived (again).
Via Heroic Hollywood, a custom leather goods company from Brooklyn called Kika NY posted some designs on their Instagram page for a duffle bag that they were asked to make “for Hugh Jackman, who is filming the new X-Men movie in Montreal.” Take a look below.
So indeed, it looks as though Jackman will appear in some capacity in Apocalypse. At least a cameo felt necessary, seeing as though Days of Future Past somewhat wiped all the following X-Men movies out of existence by altering the timeline. The last we saw of Wolverine, he was being fished out of a Washington D.C. river by Mystique posing as William Striker. Moreover, he didn’t yet have his adamantium claws, so it’s possible that plot point will be wrapped up during Jackman’s time in X-Men: Apocalypse while he also tees up his next/final Wolverine movie.
The Bryan Singer-directed X-Men: Apocalypse really belongs to the newcomers, however. Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult are all returning, but Apocalypse fulfills the third X-Men film on their three-picture contracts. They’re not obligated to return after this movie, which explains why Apocalypse is introducing young versions of Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Jubilee (Lana Condor), and more. It’s possible—even likely—that these new kids on the block will take the lead of the franchise post-Apocalypse, with one or two familiar faces sticking around in a supporting capacity.
X-Men: Apocalypse is currently filming in anticipation of an May 27, 2016 release date, and Jackman’s final standalone Wolverine movie is slated for release on March 3, 2017. Click here for more on X-Men: Apocalypse.
