Written by Edwin Francisco
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige wants an R-rated Wolverine film.
A new report claims that Feige envisions making Wolverine as visceral and as bloody as can be. Feige is targeting an R-rated MCU Wolverine movie.
Most likely, this is a different movie than the Wolverine vs. Hulk project Geekosity Editor-In-Chief Mikey Sutton initially scooped on August 31, 2o19.
While Marvel Studios could allow Wolverine with an R, it’s doubtful they’d do the same for the Hulk.
After all, the Hulk is a member of the MCU’s main superhero team the Avengers.
Wolverine, on the other hand, already has an R-rated past.
Hugh Jackman’s Logan (2017) was R-rated; furthermore, it proved that it was the best solo X-Men film that we have seen to date.
The rest snagged PG-13 ratings.
If money talks, Logan was able to grab $619 million worldwide out of a $127 million budget.
In comparison, The Wolverine (2013) only earned $414.8 million globally out of a $132 million budget.
Wolverine was a best seller for Fox in general; nevertheless, keeping it rated R would ensure that Logan’s character won’t be compromised.
The previous movies’ PG-13 ratings proved to be one of the things that held back what Wolverine was meant to be.
I have to admit, in the X-Men movies, I can understand why they can be done with PG-13.
Their varied characters weren’t as violent as Logan.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige Wants An R-rated Wolverine Film
Image: Marvel Comics Group
In addition, they also dealt with kids in Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
It’s normal for them to have a little more restraint.
However, Wolverine aka Logan has always been a different character than most.
The Canadian mutant Wolverine has evolved in the comics.
Writers Roy Thomas and Len Wein and artist John Romita Sr. co-created Wolverine in 1974.
In his first incarnation, he was generally pretty close to being a throwaway character.
Wolverine grew in popularity in The Uncanny X-Men run of writer Chris Claremont, artist John Byrne, and inker Terry Austin in the late ’70s and early ’80s.
Byrne is the reason why Logan is still in comics.
Claremont and previous illustrator Dave Cockrum planned to remove the character altogether during the mid-’70s.
Byrne is Canadian just like Wolverine and gave him a mysterious background and unstable nature.
Consequently, he made him so compelling.
Wolverine became one of the most popular characters in the Marvel Universe.
Wolverine leapt into stardom.
Claremont and writer/artist Frank Miller refined the character that we know today with Wolverine’s solo series in 1982.
Wolverine’s catchphrase “I’m the best there is at what I do, but what I do best isn’t very nice,” came from the first issue of his solo comic series.
This line defines how we all know the Wolverine.
His name is James “Logan” Howlett.
He is also known as Patch and Weapon X.
We’ve known that Kevin Feige wants more mature content with Marvel Studios properties.
That’s why we’ve been reporting that he’s been looking into getting more MCU projects onto Hulu (another Disney-owned streaming network).
Through Hulu, Feige can show more violent, gory themes and characters which can’t be used in the family-friendly Disney Plus.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige Wants An R-rated Wolverine Film
Image: 20th Century Fox
Shows like The Punisher and Jessica Jones are in the very early stages of planning for Hulu.
It’s not impossible to see that Feige will want to extend this in theatrical movies, too.
Wolverine seems to be one of those characters that fit that bill.
We also doubt that Disney will ignore this, too. Wolverine is a big name in Marvel Comics.
They know that the character is big business.
Movie sales alone are proof enough.
Note that Disney can even use the 20th Century Studios brand if Disney is worried to attach its name to an R-rated flick.
Remember that Disney originally made Touchstone Pictures in 1984 (defunct in 2018) specifically for movies that don’t fit in well with their family-friendly brand.
Jackman made a name for himself while being the famous mutant Wolverine.
He’s the most popular character in the entire Fox’s run even on the franchise.
The original X-Men films even centered on him even though he also had his solo movies.
I doubt that Jackman will be back as Logan, although we do know that Feige talked directly with Jackman before.
We might see him in some capacity in the MCU (since the MCU multiverse is now open with Alfred Molina being a visual proof of that, seems to be there is no reason for him not to show up).
Nevertheless, it’s more likely that Marvel Studios will get a new actor for the main MCU timeline.
Disney has already said that Deadpool will retain its rated-R status for Ryan Reynolds’ sequel.
Could Wolverine be next?
Related: Hugh Jackman Wants Look At Marvel Wolverine Plans Before Walking
