Marvel’s Wolverine anthology series will take the MCU to a brand new decade

A Wolverine anthology TV series is reportedly in development at Marvel Studios right now. You got a problem with that, bub?

According to That Hashtag Show, the series will be another collaboration between Marvel and Disney+, coming off the success of WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier earlier this year (as well as the planned debuts of several more series in the months and years to come). Few details are known about the Wolverine anthology series right now, but early signs do indicate that it could be a major part of Marvel’s mysterious plans for bringing mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The first season will reportedly adapt Marvel’s famous Weapon X comics arc. That Hashtag Show reporter Nick Santos, who broke the news, also tells Inverse that Season 1 will take place in the 1980s, making it an MCU prequel of sorts.

“These stories will all take place in the MCU,” Santos says. “I was told that the Weapon X story takes place in the ‘80s.”

While the MCU has dipped into the 1980s very briefly (in the opening flashback of Guardians of the Galaxy, for example) this would be the first time Marvel set an entire show or movie in the decade that’s dominated pop culture thanks to Stranger Things, Wonder Woman 1984, and more.

What exactly should we expect from the Wolverine series? To find out more, Inverse spoke to Santos via Twitter Messages — and did a bit of analysis of our own as well. Here’s everything we know about the project, including its rumored anthology format, possible story details, potential release date, and more

What is the Wolverine anthology series?

According to That Hashtag Show, Disney is in the early stages of developing an anthology series that will explore various Wolverine adventures throughout his comic book history. The series will be set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but because Wolverine’s powers include extreme longevity, different seasons may take place in the past, present, and future of the current MCU.

The term anthology can also refer to several different things. It could mean that either each episode tells a new story (think Black Mirror) or each season starts from scratch (like American Horror Story). According to That Hashtag Show, expect Wolverine’s series to feel more like AHS.

“I asked them [my source] if the setup was similar to American Horror Story or more like Black Mirror,” Santos says, “and they confirmed it's more like AHS.”

Is the Wolverine anthology series really happening?

Nothing is confirmed yet, but Santos is confident in his sources. Here’s what he said when we asked how the Wolverine report came together:

“So Disney and Marvel brought in various writers to take a crack at Wolverine, my source was one of those writers. They were told that their script wasn't going to be used in a single project, but rather would be re-worked as part of an anthology series possibly. So they know that there's an anthology series and that it's going to involve season long stories. Some of these scripts that were submitted will be used, but they were told that a new writer for the full series will be brought in to polish the scripts and write their own possibly.”

Santos added that he received scans of the early script that confirm it had been reviewed by Marvel executives:

“As for trusting my sources, they scanned the first few pages of their script. There's elements of the script that show it's been officially passed through Marvel (i.e. studio notes)”

When is the Wolverine anthology series release date?

The Wolverine Disney+ series is said to be in the early stages of development right now at Marvel, which means no director or showrunner has officially been chosen for the project yet.

It takes about a year and a half for Marvel to make a new movie or show (Covid-19not withstanding). So depending on how quickly development progresses on the series, it could premiere as early as late 2022 or 2023, but it’s hard to know for sure when the Wolverine series will make its debut on Disney+. However, we’ll keep you updated on any release date developments as they come in.

In a follow-up tweet, That Hashtag Show reporter Nick Santos noted that the initial response to his report about a Wolverine series has only bolstered Marvel’s conviction that the anthology show is a good idea. So that’s good news.

Who is in the cast of the Wolverine anthology series?

Given how early into development the Wolverine series is said to be, there are no actors attached to the project yet.

Some fans have speculated that Hugh Jackman could return to reprise the role in the MCU, but considering how acclaimed 2017’s Logan was (which doubled as his farewell to the character), it seems highly unlikely that will happen. Marvel will also, no doubt, want to introduce audiences to its own, unique interpretation of the character, which means keeping it as separate as possible from Jackman’s version. (To be honest, any hopes for bringing the old X-Men characters in the MCU probably died with Ralph Bohner.)

Santos tells Inverse that the series will likely cast a new Wolverine. “I was told that someone new would be brought in,” he says.

There’s been no official word about who Marvel may be considering for the character, but fortunately, fans have come up with plenty of options in the years since Marvel acquired the rights to the X-Men.

Is there a Wolverine anthology series trailer?

Since no writer has been hired to write the series yet, no directors have been brought on to shoot it, and no actors have been hired to star in it, there is currently no trailer for the Wolverine Disney+ series. Stay tuned for updates, though, as progress on the project hopefully continues uninterrupted in the coming months.

What’s the Wolverine anthology series plot?

As of now, it has not been officially announced what the story for Marvel’s Wolverine series will be. However, That Hashtag Show reports that the project is being developed as an anthology TV series for Disney+. That means each season of the series will tell one singular Wolverine story from the comics, and since the character ages at a much slower rate than traditional humans, each season could also take place in different time periods and locations.

The anthology format will also allow Marvel to create season-long adaptations of as many of the iconic Wolverine stories from the comics as the studio wants. That Hashtag Show also reports that the studio is planning on dedicating the first season of the series to adapting the iconic Weapon X story from the Marvel comics.

Will the Wolverine anthology series take place in the MCU?

Yes. Now that Disney owns 20th Century Fox, Marvel Studios has the ability to use mutant characters from the comics in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Therefore, fans can expect the Wolverine series to be set in the MCU in much the same way that WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier are.

As those two Disney+ shows have already proven, giving the character a TV series doesn’t disqualify them from appearing in Marvel films either. So it’s entirely possible that Wolverine will have a Disney+ show and still play an important role in whatever mutant storylines Marvel plans on telling in their feature films.

Additionally, if reports about the series adopting an anthology format turn out to be true, then the show may offer fans the chance to experience the MCU during certain time periods that they haven’t seen yet. If that’s not an exciting prospect, we don’t know what is.