Exclusive: Karl Urban Wolverine In Deadpool 3
Update July 2024: While it would have been fun, Karl Urban did not appear as a Wolverine variant in Deadpool & Wolverine. Henry Cavill appeared as a Wolverine variant Cavillrine.
Skurge may have died heroically, but it looks like the actor’s time at Marvel hasn’t ended just yet. Our trusted and proven sources tell us that Karl Urban will appear in the upcoming Deadpool 3 as a variant of Wolverine.
We’ve exclusively learned Karl Urban will appear in Deadpool 3 as a variant of Wolverine.
With this, Karl Urban’s Wolverine variant joins a growing list of both confirmed and unconfirmed appearances in Deadpool 3. Before Urban, the most recent report to emerge was that Liev Schreiber will reprise his role as Sabretooth from 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Other reports indicate stars we could see in the cast include Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Garner, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Ben Affleck, Channing Tatum, and more.
Our initial assumption would be that Karl Urban will play Wolverine as a nod to the fact that The Boys star remains one of the most often fan-cast actors to replace Hugh Jackman in the iconic role. It could be something similar to John Krasinski playing a variant of Mister Fantastic in last year’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
To some Marvel fans, Karl Urban’s appearance in Deadpool 3 could be seen as a way for the actor to redeem himself.
Who knows? Karl Urban might not be the only Wolverine variant to show up. Other fan-favorite choices to succeed Jackman in the part include Taron Egerton, Daniel Radcliffe, Henry Cavill, and Tom Hardy.
It’s difficult to get around speculation that rather than just a one-and-done variant, Karl Urban could actually be Wolverine going forward in Marvel. However, while anything is possible, we tend to think Urban wouldn’t be the top choice to step into Jackman’s shoes.
While it will no doubt be a challenge to choose another actor to play Logan, from a filmmaker’s perspective it would seem like the positive side of recasting the hero would be the chance to go in different directions. From that point of view, Karl Urban would seem a strange choice to play Wolverine long term, considering he’s from the same part of the world as Jackman, and the two actors are only four years apart in age.
To some Marvel fans, Karl Urban’s appearance in Deadpool 3 could be seen as a way for the actor to redeem himself. He played Skurge the Executioner in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, and while the film received high praise, some fans on the more purist side of things didn’t appreciate Urban’s character becoming — for the most part — comic relief.
Karl Urban’s Nerd Cred
Regardless of how Karl Urban’s Wolverine is received, his status as a genre icon is secure. Along with his more recent role as Billy Butcher in Amazon’s The Boys, he played the courageous Eomer in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Judge Dredd in Dredd (the only live-action adaptation of the character anyone liked), Julius Caesar in Hercules and Xena, and of course Doctor “Bones” McCoy in the Kelvin Timeline Star Trek films.
He’ll also soon be playing a somewhat older version of Johnny Cage than anyone expected in the upcoming sequel Mortal Kombat 2.
Deadpool 3‘s release date is currently set for May 3, 2024. However with the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes delaying productions, including the Marvel threequel, nothing is set in stone.
