Here's How Wolverine Could Look In The MCU

Have we got some concept art for you, true believer.

A rendering of Wolverine drawn by former Disney artist Jason Pastrana in 2017 is making the rounds on the internet in anticipation of the X-Man's eventual induction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The piece was posted to Pastrana's Instagram, and while it's far from the only Marvel concept art that can be found on his page, it just might be the coolest.

First, let's point out the obvious: Disney didn't acquire the film and television assets of Fox Studios until earlier this year, so at the time this artwork was commissioned, the notion of the X-Men entering the MCU was not much more than a wistful dream. Pastrana obviously took his job quite seriously, however, as you can see from the grid below. The artist went through at least nine different takes on Wolvie's iconic helmet and mask, and you'll notice that all of them downplay the "ears" which sometimes seem to stretch on into infinity in the character's comic book depictions, depending on the artist.

Also of note: the two "stealth" variants with the mouth and nose covered, the "X" on the forehead in version #1, and the presence of a great, big, stinky stogie in every version where the mouth is visible. Don't like cigars? You know what you can go do with yourself, Bub.

Pastrana then settled on a version he liked, which looks to be something of a combination between #2 and #5, and designed the entire costume, front and back. 

There are a couple of things worth noting here. First, as iconic as Hugh Jackman's long run as Wolverine in the Fox-produced movies was, the character has never even come close to looking like this in a movie. (As Logan, Jackman is even on the receiving end of a crack from Cyclops in the first X-Men movie about whether he'd prefer "yellow spandex" to their sleek black uniforms.) To us, this is an absolutely sterling representation of how a comics-accurate costume could be pulled off onscreen without looking silly.

Second, this is definitely a version of Logan close to what we're familiar with from the comics — he looks older, world-weary, downright grizzled. Heck, the rendering of the face even looks a little bit like Jackman — it's enough to make you wonder if, at some point, Disney execs were kicking around the notion of porting over the Fox version of the X-Men to the MCU. (In case you're unaware, this is definitively not what's happening; it's been reported that Disney intends to recast every single X-Man with the exception of Deadpool, because you don't mess with perfection.)

Obviously, whatever developments prompted the commissioning of this piece in 2017 are no longer at play, and the names that have been bandied about as possible successors to Jackman skew much younger than the dude in the concept art: Taron Egerton (Rocketman), Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things), and even Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame have all been floated as the next Wolverine, though only by the rumor mill, and not in any official capacity.

But if you ask us, the powers that be at Marvel Studios need to take a good, hard look at Pastrana's work, because this is nothing short of brilliant. Note the compact, streamlined look of the helmet; the utilitarian feel of the uniform, which evokes an aesthetic similar to the duds worn by members of the military or agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the MCU; heck, this guy even has a fanny pack with a little "X" on it. If you can't see Thor or Ant-Man making some kind of wisecrack about that, then you have a whole bunch of movies to rewatch.

Now would be a good time to mention that Pastrana does this kind of stuff all the time, and if you visit his Instagram, you will absolutely get lost in it. Wanna check out a potential design for the MCU version of Doctor freakin' Doom? How about a lifelike rendering of Riri Williams, better known as Ironheart, in costume? Or a version of Spider-Man if his suit had been designed not by Tony Stark, but by Shuri? You know you want to check out all of them, and we highly encourage you to do so.

But we admit that we're holding out hope that at least some elements of Pastrana's design make it to the big screen, because it's tough to imagine the MCU's version of Logan looking any more awesome. For that matter, we humbly suggest that Marvel and Disney consider hiring the man back on to handle the designs for all of the X-Men, because he seems to be pretty good at that sort of thing. We have the distinct feeling that he'd do the team justice if he were to put his mind to designing their MCU look — because, what do you know, he already did it, and it's incredible.

Unfortunately, we'll have to wait several years to find out if the characters' eventual designs live up to Pastrana's handiwork. Until then, here's hoping that Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige hasn't lost the artist's number.