Let’s dreamcast the X-Men before they appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

HOLLYWOOD, CA – JANUARY 14: Jon Bernthal arrives at Marvel’s “The Punisher” Los Angeles Premiere at ArcLight Hollywood on January 14, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images)

11. Jon Bernthal as Wolverine

Of all the mutants in the X-Men canon, the hardest one to get fans on board with might just be Wolverine. The angry, antisocial Canadian warrior with indestructible adamantium claws and the ability to heal himself is the series’ best-known character, thanks in no small part to Hugh Jackman’s turn in the Fox films, where he played Wolverine in six mainline X-Men movies and three Wolverine-centric spin-offs. Finding an actor who can handle that sort of legacy and still bring his own flair to the character will be no easy task.

Jon Berenthal has played a lot of characters that bear some similarity to Logan. During his time as Shane on The Walking Dead, he was the guy who was willing to do anything — or kill anyone — to survive. As the Punisher on Netflix, he brought a ton of depth to a violent character who was out for revenge. Berenthal could really bring out the savage side of the character that Jackman, as great as he was, never quite did in the Fox movies. Jackman was just too charming to be totally taken seriously as a gritty killer who would be as at home in the ghettos of Madripoor as he is on the battlefield.

Not so with Berenthal, who is a master at playing characters who do awful things…but you can’t help but root for them anyway.

The disclaimer here is that since Berenthal played the Punisher on Netflix, Marvel may not want to recast him. But it sounds like Marvel has washed its hands of the Netflix projects, so why not make use of this incredible actor?