Wolverine 3 Will Definitely Be Rated R, Here's Why

Hugh Jackman’s last outing as Wolverine is now less than a year away. Obviously that’s heartbreaking news for every X-Men fan, as the Australian has been a mainstay of the franchise since its first instalment was released back in 2000. But it also means thatWolverine 3 will be going all out to bring a rousing end to the Australian’s tenure as the character, which will include making it so incredibly violent that it will be rated R.

Simon Kinberg, who wrote and produced X-Men: Apocalypse, opened up to Colliderabout Wolverine 3, even insisting that it is very much like a western as well as very different to its peers. Simony Kinberg explained:

I’m not sure what I’m allowed to say about that. I will agree with you, that Patrick Stewart was rumored to be a part of that film. It takes place in the future, and as you and others have reported, it is an R-rated movie. It’s violent, it’s kind of like a western in its tone. It’s just a very cool, different film.

The success of Deadpool earlier this year means that it’s hardly surprising that 20th Century Fox have allowed Wolverine 3 to be R-rated, too. The studio’s concerns that stopping younger audience members from seeing Deadpool  would adversely effect its gross proved to be completely unfounded, as the rude, lewd and graphically violent blockbuster went on to become the highest-grossing R-rated film ever. 

It only worked because the character of Deadpool suited such an environment, though. Thankfully, Wolverine is another member of the X-Men that would benefit from this creative freedom, and, as such, an R-rated film should include much more violent scenes and deaths and also should see his acerbic and dry wit deployed in a, hopefully, funnier manner. 

Hugh Jackman will be joined in Wolverine 3 by Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant, Eriq La Salle, and Elisa Neal, while The Wolverine’s James Mangold is returning to direct. There have also been rumors that Liev Schreiber and Patrick Stewart will return as Sabretooth and Charles Xavier, respectively.

While Simon Kinberg wouldn’t go as far as to confirm that Patrick Stewart will be reprising his role as Professor X/Charles Xavier in Wolverine 3, it’s been heavily rumored that the English actor will play a part in Hugh Jackman’s final turn as the character. That’s especially likely if, as has also been previously speculated, Wolverine 3borrows heavily from the Old Man Logan comic-book arc, which sees an old Wolverine traveling across the U.S. and visiting other superheroes. 

Filming is now underway on Wolverine 3, so we can expect Stewart and/or Schreiber’s presence to be confirmed or denied sooner rather than later. We’ll be able to bid farewell to Hugh Jackman when Wolverine 3 is finally released on March 3, 2017. It promises to be emotional.