The new X-Men: Apocalyps e trailer confirmed the longstanding Wolverine cameo rumor. Fox pulled a Marvel move and we saw Wolverine’s claws pop out of nowhere, like Spider-Man’s superhero landing in the Captain America: Civil War trailer. Even more exciting than the glimpse of Logan’s claws below, Writer/Director Bryan Singer says Wolverine isn't your average cameo.
— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) April 25, 2016
The fact that Hugh Jackman tweeted this new footage himself suggests he will be portraying Wolverine, which rules out rumors this version of Wolverine would be played by another actor. Nobody is looking forward to Hugh Jackman’s final run with the claws for Wolverine 3 in March 2017, so any extra screen-time we’ll take with open arms. Now, it’s a safe bet that Apocalypse and Wolverine 3 will be connected. But how do we know if Wolverine is just making a cameo? Turns out, it’s not just a cameo according to Singer.
“Make of that what you want. I will say, it’s not simple. There’s something more pivotal that occurs with that. It hints to a sequence that again fits within the canon of all six movies, and the birth of a new direction. It’s not insignificant, nor is it simply just a throw-in,” Singer told Empire.
It’s clear that X-Men Apocalypse will see Stryker holding some of Xavier’s mutants captive as he has his own plans to “deal with the mutant problem.” Those plans are presumably Weapon X, making mutants more powerful and mind-bending them to follow his lead. In the trailer, we see a young Cyclops and Mystique, who reveal they “had a little help” escaping from captivity.
The location of the claw shot appears to be in Stryker’s base as seen in 2003’s X-Men United , where Wolverine’s skeleton was laced with adamantium and his memory erased. X2 s aw Wolverine escape Alkali Lake, and a snowy, mountainous Apocalypse shot hints this is the same location. X-Men Origins: Wolverine also saw Logan rescue Scott Summers and Emma Frost from Stryker’s base. While he is able to escape before Stryker erases his memory, Stryker ultimately shoots him in the head with a damantium bullets and Logan forgets his past.
X-Men: Apocalypse could pick up after Wolverine already went through the program; at least, that's what the traditional Age of Apocalypse storyline suggests. Set in the 80’s, Apocalypse takes place just as Stryker’s Weapon X program takes off. The younger mutants maybe see ‘Wolverine’ at Stryker’s facility and they escape together. This suggests a storyline where Logan never takes on the name Wolverine and simply goes by Weapon X, which has been hinted in previous films. In the original movies, Wolverine escapes by himself and wanders with amnesia for almost two decades until he’s eventually found by the X-Men.
But the larger question is, how does this fit into the Wolverine’s solo timeline? Singer’s statements suggests Apocalypse won't simply revisit Logan's origins for the third time. This could be a new timeline where Wolverine joins the X-Men much sooner and doesn’t lose all his memories.
Wolverine 3 will take place in the future and is rumored to follow the ‘Old Man Logan’ storyline. It appears Apocalypse is going to put a spin on Wolverine’s already-told origins, but he won’t be the main focus.
After a thousand years, Apocalypse — the first mutant to ever walk the earth — will rise again to decimate the world and create his own race of mutants. He has enlisted 'four horsemen' to aid him on his conquest: Storm, Psylocke, Angel, and Magneto.
Hailing from Ancient Egypt, Apocalypse, known as ‘The First One,’ is so powerful that he may as well be invincible. He is a master of ancient technology and has a range of mutant abilities including telekinesis, flight, super strength, teleportation, shapeshifting and metal morphing. Professor X, Mystique, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Jean Gray, Beast, Moira, Jubilee and Havok will have to go up against the almighty Apocalypse. Quicksilver will try to save the world and his father (Magneto) before it's too late.
X-Men: Apocalypse hits theaters May 27.
