Stephen Merchant, star and co-creator of The Office, has taken a mystery role in 20th Century Fox‘s upcoming third Wolverine movie. News of Stephen Merchant’s involvement comes via Deadline and arrives on the heels of yesterday’s report that fellow British actor Richard E. Grant is also slated for an undisclosed role. The current cast for the film also includes Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Boyd Holbrook.
Rumors continue to swirl that the new film is based on the famous Old Man Logan story line, though this remains unconfirmed. We’ve meanwhile heard that X-23 will be making an appearance, while rumors swirl that the final film could be the first ever R-rated take on Jackman’s Marvel hero. Mangold’s The Wolverine saw an alternate R-rated cut released on home media after its theatrical release and, following the success of Deadpool (currently the highest-grossing X-Men and R-rated movie of all-time), we could be seeing a lot more blood when Wolverine next pops his claws.
Stephen Merchant isn’t the only star of The Office starring in an upcoming Marvel film. Martin Freeman will make his MCU debut as Everett K. Ross in next week’s Captain America: Civil War. Although unconfirmed, it’s assumed that Freeman will be reprising the role in 2018’s Black Panther as well due to the strong connection between Ross and Wakanda in the comics.
Wolverine 3 will be directed by James Mangold from a script by David James Kelly. It is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on March 3, 2017.
