Hugh Jackman’s Deadpool 3 Suit Gives Us the Wolverine We’ve Always Wanted in New Set Pic
For his MCU debut, Hugh Jackman's Wolverine will have a new but familiar look in Deadpool 3.
“What would you prefer, yellow spandex?” When James Marsden’s Cyclops delivered that line in 2000’s X-Men, we all got the joke. The yellow spandex sported by Wolverine and other members of Marvel’s Merry Band of Mutants could never look cool in a live-action movie, which is why the black leather costumes made more sense. But even the most understanding movie-goer couldn’t help but feel a slight pang at the quip. “Yeah,” we thought to ourselves. “We would prefer Wolverine in yellow spandex.”
According to a recently-released photo from Deadpool 3, fans are finally getting their wish. We’ve long known that the third Deadpool movie will bring the Merc with a Mouth from the Fox movie universe where he began, over to the MCU. And we’ve also known that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine would be coming along for the ride, the character’s first appearance in the MCU. But while leaked set photos did feature Ryan Reynolds in a slightly brighter, more comic-book-esque, take on the Deadpool costume, most of us assumed Jackman would be in either black or his signature leather jacket.
And yet, new photos snapped from the film set show Wolverine wearing, you guessed it, yellow spandex. Okay, not actually spandex — this clearly isn’t the same thing as the more chintzy comic-accurate costumes worn by Wanda Maximoff in the Halloween episode of WandaVision or the Classic Loki played by Richard E. Grant. The material matches Deadpool’s costume, with a yellow quite similar to the one used by the X-Men uniforms in Dark Phoenix.
There’s also video of Jackman and Reynolds filming scenes in their colorful getups:
With its blue highlights, Wolverine’s costume most closely resembles the one designed by John Cassidy for 2004’s Astonishing X-Men. Not only are the shoulder pads, gloves, and boots blue, but so also are the highlights of the stripes around his shoulders and sides. Gone are the blue trunks that accompany most versions of the costume, and the red on his belt is limited to a square on his buckle.
Notably, this version of the costume has full sleeves, covering Wolverine’s arms. Nearly all of Wolvie’s comic book costumes leave the arms exposed, showing off the Canucklehead’s hirsute body and his stocky frame, giving the character a rugged look, even in primary colors. That choice probably makes less sense for the tall, lean Jackman, who seems to reduce the amount of body hair in each performance.
But of course, the most striking element of the costume is the obvious holdover from the 20th Century Fox costumes. Wolverine still doesn’t wear his iconic, winged mask. He may wear it in other parts of the movie, but Marvel has decided to expose Jackman’s face for the first images they leak, ensuring that even non-geeks know that the handsome actor is involved. But it may also indicate that Wolverine will stick to the MCU trend of unmasking its heroes as much as possible, something that the gnarly-looking Wade Wilson seems to be avoiding.
Even if Jackman leaves his handsome mug uncovered, these pictures suggest that we’ll finally get the Wolverine we’ve wanted, the one teased in a deleted scene of The Wolverine. We’re finally getting the yellow spandex we’ve always preferred.
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Joe George’s writing has appeared at Slate, Polygon, Tor.com, and elsewhere!