The end of an era is almost here. Although Wolverine had been a popular Marvel superhero for years thanks to his comic book appearances and the '90s animated series, it was Hugh Jackman's portrayal in the X-Men movies that boosted him to new levels of popularity. The actor has stuck with the character through thick and thin, but that will end next year with Logan. Because Jackman's tenure is concluding, we're hoping that this spinoff ends with Wolverine meeting his demise.
Judging from reports and images released so far (not to mention the movie aiming to earn an R-rating), Logan will be be one of the darkest X-Men movies yet. Wolverine is going to be put through the ringer yet again, and even though he's been through a lot of rough situations before, it looks especially bad in his third solo movie. We've accumulated the best reasons why it would be preferable if he died by the time the story conclude, taking into account plot details and behind-the-scenes rationale. Let's kick off with an easy one...
Hugh Jackman Is Retiring From The Role
The most obvious reason to off Wolverine is that Logan will be the last time Hugh Jackman plays the character. He has played the clawed mutant in eight movies across 16 years, including his X-Men: First Class cameo. Logan will make nine. That's not just the longest superhero movie role tenure, it's an impressive streak for any actor to play a character for that long. Whether you liked Jackman's portrayal of Wolverine or had issues with it, there's no denying that he popularized the character for an entire generation, so it would be fitting it the character passes onto the great beyond as Jackman departs. Now some you you may reasonably ask why the franchise doesn't simply recast someone else in the role? After all, just because Jackman is retiring the character doesn't mean that someone else can't take over. Well, that's brings us to the next entry...
The Franchise Needs To Move Past Him
Ever since the X-Men franchise kicked off in 2000, Wolverine has been its primary figure. He was the lead in the original three movies, he led two spinoffs and even the "First Class" trilogy found ways to include him, most notably in X-Men: Days of Future Past. However, now this universe has entered a new stage following X-Men: Apocalypse, and with Hugh Jackman exiting, this is the best time to start with a clean slate. Start focusing on other captivating characters from this corner of the Marvel comics universe rather than fall back on Wolverine. Hell, it already looks like Deadpool has succeeded Wolverine as the franchise's "mascot." It would be foolish to believe we'll never see another version of Wolverine on the big screen, but as long as this iteration of the X-Men cinematic universe continues, he shouldn't be a part of it.
His Healing Powers Are On The Fritz
We're not just suggesting Wolverine die because Hugh Jackman is leaving or because the X-Men franchise needs to grow without him, Logan plot details already indicate the character is close to death's door. In the year 2024, Wolverine, who looks older than ever before, is struggling with his failing healing powers. They're nowhere near as strong as they used to be, and sometimes they don't work at all. As a result, he's been forced to turn to alcohol to dull the pain. If Wolverine can't heal properly, that means he's susceptible to permanent injuries during battle like the rest of us. Even if he isn't mortally wounded during the story, passing from old age isn't off the table. Remember, just because his healing powers slowed his aging doesn't mean that he is immortal. He's close to 200 years old, and maybe that's his body's natural limit.
He Needs Completion
When we met Wolverine in X-Men, he was a drifting loner without any memory of his past life. Upon joining the X-Men, he learned to use his special "talents" to help both mutants and humans. As the years passed, we learned where he came from and how his skeleton was covered in adamantium. The last time we chronologically saw him, he had successfully changed the timeline to one filled with a lot less killer robots. Wolverine has hit a lot of the major hero's journey bears, so Logan should be the time to end said journey. If you think about it, few movie superheroes have permanently died. Even Cyclops, Jean Grey and Professor X were later revived. Let Wolverine be the notable one to break the trend. Don't just put him on a new path to wander on for God knows how long again.
He Already Has A Successor
If Wolverine died in Logan, it's not like he would be leaving moviegoers empty-handed. At some point during the story, he'll run into his female clone, Laura Kinney, a.k.a. X-23. It's unclear exactly how she'll fit into the story, but taking her comic book origins into account and how there's a mysterious organization called Transigen that's turning young mutants into living weapons, presumably she was created in one of their laboratories from the blood sample taken in the X-Men: Apocalypse post-credits scene. Regardless, there will hopefully be enough time for Wolverine to mentor/parent X-23 once she's been freed from captivity, but seeing her"father" die, be it from injuries or natural causes, will push her to become a hero. From there, she can take his place as the ferocious clawed mutant in the X-Men movie universe.
