Over 30,000 People Sign Petition for MCU to Cast Danny DeVito as Wolverine, Because Why the Hell Not

A petition urging the Marvel Cinematic Universe to cast Danny DeVito in the role of Wolverine has gone viral this week after earning over 30,000 signatures and counting. DeVito, who most recently appeared in Tim Burton’s live-action “Dumbo” remake and continues to star as Frank on FXX’s beloved comedy series “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” is no stranger to the world of comic book movies as he appeared as the Penguin opposite Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer in Burton’s “Batman Returns.”

While the petition is the equivalent of a viral joke, it does speak to the larger question of what Disney and Marvel Studios will decide to do with the superheroes that Fox previously owned such as the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Deadpool, and more. Now that Disney owns Fox, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has free reign over many characters they were previously unable to feature in its movies. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has been vocal about the X-Men joining the MCU at some point, although he warned fans earlier this year to have patience.

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“It’ll be a while,” Feige told io9 in April when asked about bringing the X-Men into the MCU. “It’s all just beginning and the five-year plan that we’ve been working on, we were working on before any of [the Disney-Fox merger] was set. So really it’s much more, for us, less about specifics of when and where [the X-Men will appear] right now and more just the comfort factor and how nice it is that they’re home. That they’re all back. But it will be a very long time.”

The upcoming X-Men movie “Dark Phoenix” will be the last entry in the Fox-owned franchise that first started with the 2000 original “X-Men.” The Marvel Cinematic Universe is expected to reboot the X-Men characters when the time comes to introduce them into the MCU, which means new actors will be taking on iconic roles like Wolverine, famously played by Hugh Jackman for more than a decade on the big screen. Wolverine last appeared in the Fox-released “Logan,” which grossed over $600 million worldwide.

“Dark Phoenix” opens in theaters nationwide June 7.