Marvel Studios Boss Kevin Feige Says Hugh Jackman’s Appearance In ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Proves MCU Returns For Robert Downey Jr. And Chris Evans “Can Be Done If Great Care Is Taken”
In ostensibly soft-confirming that a revival of the two Avengers is being genuinely considered as a Hail Mary play to save the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s imploding reputation, Kevin Feige has put forth Deadpool & Wolverine’s treatment of Hugh Jackman and his incarnation of the titular mutant berserker as proof that Marvel Studios is capable of both successfully and respectfully bringing back both Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and Chris Evans’ Captain America for one last mission.
Feige made his sales pitch for the late Avengers’ return while speaking with Discussing Film’s Andrew J. Salzar in promotion of the mutant crossover film.
Asked by Salzar as to how, if ever, Marvel Studios would approach the possibility of reviving the two heroes, the ever-baseall-capped studio head explained that while he had no concrete information regarding such a development, if it were to heaven, it would first and foremost have to be done in a way that respected their legacies.
“That’s the key, right?” asserted Feige. “How do you do it in a way that maintains what has come before, and in a great way? And we’ve been spending, you know, the last two-plus years figuring that out for Wolverine.”
He added, “So, what’s to come? We’ll see. We’re just proud that we, I think, have figured it out for Wolverine. I think Hugh’s appearance and starring role in [Deadpool & Wolverine] is a great sign that it can be done — if great care is taken.”
Interestingly, while the MCU’s absolute bastardization of its source material in recent years suggests his desire for ‘character respect’ does not extend to the versions found in the original comics, it does appear Feige holds some level of specific reverence for each respective Marvel hero’s cinematic counterparts.
Speaking with Empire Magazine‘s Ben Travis in May, Feige claimed that when he originally got the pitch for Deadpool & Wolverine, his first instinct was to dissuade Jackman from reprising his role as Wolverine as to avoid ruining his character’s ending in Logan.
“I said, ‘Let me give you a piece of advice, Hugh’,” recalled the studio boss. “‘Don’t come back. You had the greatest ending in history with Logan. That’s not something we should undo.'”
Notably, when asked in 2023 about a potential Iron Man resurrection by Vanity Fair‘s Anthony Breznican, Feige assured the reporter that there were no plans to mess with the hero’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame.
“We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again,” he told Breznican. “We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.”
To this end, given the stark similarities (pun slightly intended) in his approach to the ‘untouchable legacies’ of both Jackman’s Wolverine and Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, speculation suggests that if either the Star-Spangled or Armored Avenger does make another appearance the MCU, they will be depicted as multiversal variants of each respective hero rather than the prime versions who took out Thanos on Earth-199999.
As for Downey Jr. and Evans themselves, both actors have admitted to being at least somewhat open to the idea of reprising their superheroic roles.
Asked by Jodie Foster during their appearance on Variety‘s Actors on Actors discussion series if he would ever “think of putting the suit back on again for Tony Stark?”, Downey Jr. affirmed, “It’s just crazily in my DNA. Probably the most like-me character I’ve ever played, even though he’s way cooler than I am. I’ve become surprisingly open-minded to the idea.”
Meanwhile, asked by GQ‘s Zach Baron in 2023 if he would ever wield the shield again, Evans admitted, “Yeah, maybe.”
“I’ll never say never, just because it was such a wonderful experience,” he said. “But I’m also very precious with it. It’s something that I am very proud of. And like I said, sometimes I can’t believe it even happened. And I wouldn’t want the black eye if it felt like a cash grab or if it didn’t live up to expectations or if it just felt like it wasn’t connected to that original thing. So, no time soon. And ultimately I really hope to just maybe act a little bit less in my life. I have a lot of other interests. Look, by no means have I climbed any sort of a mountain in this field. I have no Oscars and I’m not lumped with other names that are at the top of the mountain in any way. But I also feel very satisfied.”
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