Is The Wolverine 2013 Canon (2024)
However, there are two reasons why the movie remains "canon" in a broader sense:
The Lonely Logan: Unpacking the Canon Status of The Wolverine (2013) in the MCU Era
If the timeline was erased, does that mean The Wolverine is no longer canon?
The recent film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) explicitly deals with the destruction of the "Fox Universe" (Earth-10005). In this film, the legacy of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is treated as a collective history. While the specific events of The Wolverine are not recapped in detail, the film acknowledges the immense history of the character. is the wolverine 2013 canon
In the original release timeline, The Wolverine was 100% canon. The post-credits scene even showed a healed, adamantium-clawed Logan being approached by Magneto and Professor X (in a new body, thanks to his post-credits scene in The Last Stand ), setting up the dystopian future of Days of Future Past .
, the legacy of these films has been integrated into the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
However, in the chaotic multiverse of Deadpool & Wolverine , all Fox-era films—including The Wolverine —are treated as "canon events" that happened in one reality or another. The TVA (Time Variance Authority) prunes timelines, but those timelines still existed . However, there are two reasons why the movie
Depending on which "timeline" you are following in the Fox X-Men franchise, the movie is either a literal history or a memory from a reality that no longer exists. The Original Timeline: A Direct Sequel
Logan is mourning the death of Jean Grey, which occurred in The Last Stand .
The Wolverine is canon to the legacy of the character . While the specific historical events of 2013 may no longer exist on the "prime" Earth-616 (or Earth-10005), the film is recognized as a valid branch timeline within the Marvel multiverse. Thanks to Deadpool & Wolverine , nothing from the Fox era is truly "gone." It’s all in the Void, waiting to be referenced. While the specific events of The Wolverine are
Then came X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). In that film, Wolverine’s consciousness is sent back to 1973. By preventing Mystique from killing Bolivar Trask, Logan fundamentally alters the timeline. He erases X-Men: The Last Stand , Origins: Wolverine , and—crucially—
The film opens with a haunting sequence: Logan suffering from nightmares in the Canadian wilderness, haunted by the death of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), whom he was forced to kill at the end of The Last Stand . This narrative choice firmly anchored The Wolverine in the timeline of the original trilogy. It was not a reboot; it was a direct continuation of the "Original Timeline."