13 Years Ago, Hugh Jackman Predicted ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ in ‘The Wolverine’ Interview

Marvel fans have spent months buzzing about every new reveal tied to ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ from record-breaking trailer numbers to a cast list that reads like a greatest hits collection of the last two decades of superhero cinema. But this week, the conversation took an unexpected turn back to the past instead of the future.

A clip resurfaced online showing Hugh Jackman discussing the kind of crossover fans are only now watching unfold, and the timing of his comments has left people genuinely stunned. Long before Disney owned the rights to make this movie possible, one actor already seemed convinced it was coming.

During a promotional interview for 2013’s ‘The Wolverine,’ Jackman expressed his belief, admitting he might be overly optimistic, that Marvel would eventually find a way to bring Iron Man, the Avengers, Wolverine, the X-Men characters, and Spider-Man together on screen. At the time, that idea sounded closer to fan fiction than an actual possibility.

The obstacles standing in the way of that vision back in 2013 were significant. Sony still controlled Spider-Man independently, 20th Century Fox owned the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises outright, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe itself was only just entering its second phase following the original ‘Avengers’ film. There was no roadmap, no multiverse concept, and certainly no indication those separate universes would ever actually collide.

Everything changed in March 2019, when Disney closed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 20th Century Fox, finally returning the X-Men film rights to Marvel Studios. That deal, combined with an earlier arrangement that brought Spider-Man into the MCU on loan from Sony, quietly built the foundation for exactly the crossover Jackman had once described as almost impossible to imagine.

Now, with ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ set for release on December 18, that impossible scenario has become reality. The film brings back Fox-era X-Men actors including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Kelsey Grammer, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn and James Marsden, alongside returning Avengers like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan.

The Fantastic Four’s Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn round out the ensemble, alongside Channing Tatum reprising his Gambit role from ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’ Jackman himself is expected to return as Wolverine, continuing a version of the character that technically exists outside Marvel’s main continuity following his death in ‘Logan.’

Fans online have wasted no time pointing out just how accurately Jackman’s decade-old comments line up with what is actually happening in ‘Doomsday.’ Watching a clip from over a decade before Disney even owned the rights to make this crossover possible has understandably struck a nerve with longtime followers of both franchises.

There is still more to look forward to beyond just this film, with ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ following in its wake and continued speculation about the Young Avengers expanding the roster even further. Given how precisely Jackman’s prediction has held up, it is hard not to wonder what else he might have called correctly over the years.

What do you think about Hugh Jackman essentially predicting ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ over a decade before it happened? Let us know in the comments.