While there are many characters that could take up the character of Wolverine, the MCU might receive a Wolverine who is more inclined towards the Dark Avengers than the X-Men.

Deadpool & Wolverine will see Hugh Jackman reprise his role as Wolverine for the first time since his exit in 2017’s Logan. The physicality that was required for the character took a heavy toll on the actor’s body, which contributed to his leaving the character behind. However, the actor is back for another round with Ryan Reynolds, but this does not mean Jackman would be the MCU’s Wolverine.

Hugh Jackman and Disney at large might be able to use Deadpool & Wolverine to introduce Jackman’s successor for the role of Wolverine. While this could be a younger actor who would essay the role of Wolverine as a variant of Logan, it is completely possible that Marvel Studios will go ahead with a legacy variant of Wolverine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This could see a slew of characters, make their way into the MCU, such as the numerous children the Wolverine has, like Akihiro, better known as Daken, Laura Kinney (or X-23), or even James Hudson Jr. from the Ultimate Marvel Universe.

The MCU could go with Daken as its main Wolverine rather than X-23

Daken, also called Akihiro, was the son of Wolverine by Itsu, Wolverine’s wife. Itsu was slain by enemies of Wolverine (with assistance from the Winter Soldier), and Akihiro was dropped at the doorstep of a wealthy family, who was raised as his own. Akihiro would clash with his father on multiple occasions, even joining Norman Osborne’s Dark Avengers as their Wolverine. However, the character would come around and re-invent himself as an anti-hero, assisting his half-sisters, Wolverine and Honey Badger to deal with the Orphans of X.

While the character does not hold the title of Wolverine right now, he would fit into the MCU perfectly, especially with teams like the Thunderbolts running around. The character would have his own arc in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and would be a great addition to the mutant lineup of the mainline MCU.

Further, by allowing Daken or any other legacy character to take over from Hugh Jackman, fans can still have Jackman play the character from time to time with enough breaks, while Wolverine remains a mainstay in other stories through his legacy characters.

The MCU takes some inspiration from the Ultimate Marvel timeline, and that could ring true for Wolverine as well

While the Earth 616 currently has a slew of Wolverine’s children running around, the Snikt family, and by extension, possible legacy candidates for the title of Wolverine include Daken, X-23, and Gabby. However, after the events of Secret Wars and Battleworld, 616 gained another Snikt child, this time from the Ultimate Universe. James Hudson Jr. has all the standard powers of Logan and functions as the Ultimate Timeline’s Wolverine.

In addition to having the powers that Logan does, the character also has the power to coat his skeleton in an organic metal, basically making him Wolverine 2.0.

While the character has been largely absent in the Marvel Universe, this character, combined with Akihiro in some form, could serve as the inspiration for the Wolverine of the MCU. This could very well be a variant of Logan, who perhaps shares a name with his father (in the same vein as Prince T’Challa does with the Black Panther). However, this would serve only as an illusion of a legacy character, as the intent would still be that of presenting a Wolverine that goes by the name Logan.