Wolverine Isn't in 'X-Men: Dark Phoenix' for an Understandable Reason
Updated June 6 2019, 11:05 a.m. ET
Opinion: One of the greatest (and most tragic) love stories of our time is the one between Jean Grey and Wolverine. If you've seen the original X-Men movies, then you know their relationship was always complicated. Logan (Wolverine) loved Jean Grey, but Jean was engaged to Cyclops.
Logan and Jean have undeniable chemistry, but it was doomed from the start. Jean Grey has a dark, festering power that she can't seem to control, and while Wolverine tries his hardest, he isn't able to save her from herself. In the end, we know that Wolverine is the one who kills Jean.
The latest X-Men movie, Dark Phoenix (out this Friday) focuses on a young Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) who succumbs to her darkness, with the help of Vuk (Jessica Chastain), a shape-shifting alien who manipulates her into embracing her powers and becoming the Dark Phoenix.
Many are wondering...will Wolverine, who's played such a huge role in Jean Grey's life, be in the movie?
Since Hugh Jackman is nowhere to be found on Dark Phoenix's IMDB page, it's looking like a no. But why? Wolverine fits into the (very complicated and sometimes confusing) X-Men timeline. He's definitely alive during this time.
He even made in appearance in X-Men: Apocalypse in which Sophie's Jean Grey and Hugh's Wolverine are filmed together (see below in the clip). However, the director of Dark Phoenix, Simon Kinberg, made a deliberate choice to not bring him into the picture this time.
It came down to the age difference between Sophie Turner and Hugh Jackman.
Simon Kinberg tells Rolling Stone, “If you know the Dark Phoenix story, you’d want to really service the love story between Logan and Jean. And I think the notion of Hugh Jackman, as great as he looks for his age, and Sophie Turner — it didn’t sit well with me. Or anyone else!”
It makes sense. Sophie is 23 years old, while Hugh is 50. A relationship between them on screen would be... weird. When Wolverine is in love with Jean in the earlier X-Men movies, it's with Famke Janssen's Jean Grey, so the relationship is definitely more palatable.
Plus, the director wanted the focus to be on Jean Grey, not Wolverine.
“There was an element of this being Jean’s story. And I was committing so fully to it that I didn’t want to run the risk of pulling away from Jean by going to the well of a fan-favorite character in these movies. I wanted this to be a very different experience of seeing an X-Men movie,” Simon added.
Dark Phoenix is out in theaters June 7.
