Now that Disney has acquired 21st Century Fox and the rights to the X-Men have reverted back to Marvel Studios,Wolverinewill be joining the MCU within the next few years. Unfortunately for whoever Kevin Feige casts, Hugh Jackman will be a tough act to follow. He spent two decades crafting the definitive on-screen portrayal of the character andconcluded his arc in powerful fashionin James Mangold’s R-rated neo-western gemLogan.
In order to differentiate Wolverine’s MCU adventures from Jackman’s stint in the Fox franchise, Marvel will have to do something radically new with the character. The great thing about Wolverine’s agelessness is that he has a centuries-spanning lifetime incorporating various historical eras, so he can go on a bunch of cool standalone adventures throughout history. This would be a great opportunity for a psychedelic, action-packed Vietnam War movie set in the MCU that mixes intense warfare with comic book spectacle, likeCaptain America: The First Avengerdid withits pulpy portrayal of conflict in World War II.
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Since the beginning, the MCU has managed to stand out by telling its familiar superhero stories through unconventional genre frameworks.Spider-Man: Homecomingis a high school comedy in the style of John Hughes,Captain America: The Winter Soldieris a paranoid political thriller in the vein ofThe Parallax View, andCaptain Marvelis a ‘90s actioner likeSpeedorT2. The franchise has yet to tackle the Vietnam-era subgenre of war movies, but fromPlatoontoFull Metal Jacket, Vietnam movies have a sumptuous aesthetic of their own that could make a visually stunning backdrop for a superhero blockbuster.
Wolvie could storm through the jungles asa one-man army, like Rambo, kicking butt, taking names, and liberating P.O.W.s. It could even be framed asApocalypse Nowwith superpowers, as Logan is sent up a treacherous river to assassinate a villainous mutant. The haunting realities of the Vietnam War explored in particularly harrowing films likeThe Deer Huntermight make it difficult to accept a superhero movie with that setting, butKong: Skull Islandproved that a crowd-pleasing blockbuster can evoke Vietnam imagery without losing its sense of fun. A Vietnam-set Wolverine movie could even have a riff onThe Deer Hunter’s infamous Russian roulette scenein which Logan takes a bullet to the head and survives.
The opening montage ofX-Men Origins: Wolverinebriefly covers Logan’s history as a soldier, as he and his half-brother are seen fighting in the American Civil War, both World Wars, and eventually even in the Vietnam War. But this was just a brief couple of scenes. There’s enough material in the premise of Wolverine fighting in ‘Nam for a whole movie.
In theX-Men Originsmovie’s Vietnam sequence, Victor Creed tries to sexually assault a Vietnamese woman and Logan rushes to his defense, which gets them both executed by firing squad, which their mutant powers allow them to survive. After that, the story moves on to William Stryker signing them up for the Weapon X program. It missed out on all the visual possibilities of Vietnam War scenes: jungle landscapes, bright bursts of napalm, widespread psychedelic drug use.
Another great opportunity presented by Vietnam War movies is the ability to fill the soundtrack with ‘60s rock ‘n’ roll hits. So far, the MCU’s soundtracks have beena goldmine for rock fans, fromThor: Ragnarok’s use of “Immigrant Song” toGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’s use of “The Chain” toIron Man’s use of, well, “Iron Man.” A Wolvie-centric Vietnam War movie could incorporate songs like Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son.”
It’s unclear how Marvel will incorporate the X-Men into the MCU. It’ll bedifficult to explainwhy a school full of superpowered mutants has been around for decades and none of them decided to help when Thanos came to Earth. It’s possible that they’ll be introduced via the multiverse, but there are so many iconic mutants – Professor X, Magneto, Storm, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, Iceman, the list goes on – that they can’t possibly all be introduced at once.
Bringing in the characters one at a time would give casual audiences a chance to get to know each of them before the whole team assembles. Introducing Wolverine in the context of the Vietnam War, circa the ‘60s or ‘70s, would be a great way to remove him from the wider MCU and establish his characterization on his own terms beforeintegrating him into the larger universe.
There are some Marvel fans calling for a Wolverine solo movie set in World War II that would cross over with Steve Rogers’ adventures with the Howling Commandos, but that would rehashThe First Avengerand also defeatthe purpose of a Wolverine solo moviein the first place. In the hands of the right filmmaker, a brutal, surreal, hard-R superhero war movie that plays likeHamburger Hillstarring Wolverine could be awesome.
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