Avengers: Secret Wars should use the multiverse to bring several heroes from Marvel’s live-action hstory together, and a dream team-up seems likely.

Avengers: Secret Wars will serve as the finale of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Multiverse Saga, and the movie could fully explore Marvel’s entire live-action history, finally uniting two fan-favorite actors. Following a few MCU schedule delays due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes and Marvel’s own changes to how it operates, Avengers: Secret Wars’ release date has been pushed back to 2027. Before then, the MCU will have another Avengers film, 2026’s The Kang Dynasty, which will likely be the first time the new version of the universe’s premiere superhero team will appear since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers: Secret Wars will not have the job of setting up a new team, which is a fairly difficult task. However, the movie will have an even harder one as it ends a saga and has to live up to Avengers: Endgame’s handling of the Infinity Saga’s finale. One of Avengers: Endgame’s biggest aspects was how well it balanced several MCU heroes, and with the full scope of Marvel’s live-action history — not just the MCU — at its disposal, Avengers: Secret Wars can surpass that, finally bringing a long-awaited duo to the screen, and becoming one of the best MCU movies.

Avengers: Secret Wars Can Unite Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine And Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man

The Fan-Favorite Marvel Actors Have Never Shared The Screen As Their Heroes

Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man in a destroyed suit in Spider-Man (2002)

While the MCU is the most successful movie franchise of all time, some Marvel movies that were released years prior to 2008’s Iron Man were responsible for setting up the comic book giant as a major player. Among those projects, two characters emerged as fan-favorites who have stood the test of time to remain among the very best live-action versions of Marvel heroes. Those characters are Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, who debuted in Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man film back in 2002, and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, who first appeared two years prior in 2000’s X-Men.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is rumored to be looking at Marvel’s entire live-action offerings to figure out which characters to bring into the MCU for Avengers: Secret Wars. Like happened in the comic book event, the movie should follow different universes colliding — the incursions that have already begun to appear throughout MCU projects — which opens the door for heroes and villains from non-MCU Marvel movies to play a role in the film. Ever since their first appearances, fans have been claiming for Jackman’s Wolverine and Maguire’s Spider-Man to team up, and Avengers: Secret Wars could finally make that happen.

How The Two Stars Played A Major Role In Making Marvel What It Is Today

The MCU Started With Lesser-Known Heroes

Blended image of Tobey Maguire's Spider-man crossing the portal and Hugh Jackman's Wolverinw with his claws out

Marvel Studios has made heroes like the Guardians of the Galaxy a household name; however, the MCU had to start without some of its biggest characters due to Marvel’s financial troubles at the time. As a way to avoid bankruptcy, Marvel decided to sell the movie rights to some of its most popular comic book characters. If the Marvel movies that had been made before 2008’s Iron Man had failed, perhaps the shared universe would have never been created, or director Jon Favreau would not have been able to cast the risky Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark.

Thankfully, the non-MCU Marvel movies had a few astounding hits, with Jackman’s Wolverine and Maguire’s Spider-Man playing a major role in them. Famous Marvel heroes Spider-Man and Wolverine were perfectly adapted to live-action, with Jackman’s performance being so good that he remains the only actor to play Logan in live-action to this day, while Maguire’s Spider-Man is still held as the best by many, despite two other fan-favorite incarnations. Jackman’s Wolverine was so popular that he was the only X-Men hero to get his own trilogy, while Maguire’s Spider-Man 2 is regarded as one of the best superhero films ever.

Why Jackman’s Wolverine & Maguire’s Spider-Man Make The Most Sense For Secret Wars’ Multiversal Crossover Setup

The Actors Are Already Part Of The Marvel Studios Family

Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in Avengers Secret Wars

Several heroes and villains from non-MCU Marvel movies could appear in Avengers: Secret Wars; however, Jackman and Maguire already have the jump on the others. 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home is the Multiverse Saga’s biggest event so far, with the movie bringing back Maguire and Andrew Garfield as their versions of Spider-Man for the first time since their respective franchises ended. After the release of the film, Maguire revealed that he would love to return as Spider-Man for new projects.

Like Maguire, Jackman will soon join the MCU. The actor will return as Logan in the MCU’s only 2024 movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, whose first trailer has become the most watched of all time within 24 hours. Jackman’s Wolverine will finally wear the character’s comic book-accurate yellow and blue costume in the movie, showing how the MCU cares for the hero. With Jackman and Maguire already being used by Marvel to expand the MCU’s multiverse, the heroes make the most sense as Avengers: Secret Wars’ premiere guest characters, finally making fans’ wishes for a team-up come true.