A brutal Marvel-inspired fan film has made a splash and provided the blueprint that the MCU’s version of Wolverine should follow. Wolverine’s MCU debut will be in Deadpool & Wolverine, which is set to be released on July 26 of this year as the MCU’s first and only official cinematic release of 2024. With no other movies to dilute things, the hype for the eponymous heroes’ MCU debut is at a fever pitch, while certain fans help fill the void in the absence of any other official MCU movie in 2024.

Such is the case with filmmaker Godefroy Ryckewaert, whose Viking-themed Wolverine fan film has made a big impression on YouTube. The movie, entitled Logan the Wolf, centers around a version of Wolverine in a Norse setting, with Wolverine himself depicted as a Viking lone-wolf warrior. The film mostly comprises a brutal fight sequence between Wolverine and some ill-advised bounty hunters, resulting in a bloodbath that fully showcases Logan’s healing factor, berserker rage and prowess, and his iconic claws. The ten-minute movie is extremely well executed and sets the bar for how the MCU should handle Wolverine.

The MCU’s Wolverine Needs To Learn 2 Lessons From Logan The Wolf

Logan the Wolf is a fresh take on Wolverine that aptly leans into his berserker rage by placing him squarely in the context of the Viking age. This unique setting is largely where the creative liberties end, however, as Ryckewaert has done a stellar job of depicting Wolverine at his most comic-accurate – right down to his short stature that the movie’s dialogue makes sure to highlight. This isn’t the only thing that Marvel could stand to replicate with its rendition of Wolverine.

As the title suggests, Logan the Wolf shows Wolverine as a lone wolf, living in a forest before money-hungry hunters accost him. Before the inevitable team-up down the line, the MCU’s version of Wolverine would benefit from a similar starting point, establishing the character as an outsider whose propensity for teamwork is sometimes questionable. Introducing Wolverine in this way, either in a solo film or within a wider MCU X-Men story, is a must for establishing a more comic-accurate Wolverine. Doing so with a solo movie allows capitalizing on another feature.

An R-rated stint replete with gory violence is perfect for Wolverine, just as much as it is for Deadpool. Deadpool & Wolverine is evidently going to lean into this with its own R-rating, but it is also a precedent that Logan – the official Wolverine movie from Fox – helped to establish. With that in mind, both of Wolverine‘s most recent live-action appearances have seen him lean into the R-rating with unbridled violence to the tune of much fanfare. Logan the Wolf, meanwhile, helps to drive home the fact that the eponymous mutant truly thrives in such an environment.