Movies

Mr. Sinister Confirmed As The Villain In 'Wolverine 3', But When Will We See The First Footage?

Mr. Sinister in Wolverine 3
By Ethan Anderton

It's only been four months since X-Men: Apocalypse hit theaters, but it feels like it's been much longer. That might be a testament to just how forgettable of an X-Men sequel it was, even though I did find enough to enjoy in it to keep me from simply hating it. Now we're being reminded of the film again as it's now available on Digital HD and will be hitting Blu-ray and DVD on October 4th, and the release of the film on home video has provided us with confirmation of one particular detail in the forthcoming Wolverine 3.

The Marvel Comics villain Mr. Sinister has been confirmed to be a villain in Wolverine 3, which as we already know will mark Hugh Jackman's last time playing the adamantium-clad mutant. Find out more after the jump.

Confirmation of Mr. Sinister in Wolverine 3 comes straight from X-Men: Apocalypse director Bryan Singer. Even though he's not at the helm of the next movie in the solo Wolverine franchise, he's very much knowledgeable on what's happening behind the scenes in the X-Men universe. While speaking on the commentary track for X-Men: Apocalypse (via CinemaBlend), Singer explained that the post-credits scene from the sequel was indeed hinting at the arrival of Mr. Sinister in Wolverine 3.

For those who don't know, Mr. Sinister (aka Nathaniel Essex) made himself more powerful by experimenting on other mutants in order to evolve his own body and give himself mutant powers. In the comics, he's also known for creating mutants of his own and even manipulating some of the most powerful ones into giving birth to mutants that he hopes to control for his own plans.

Back when the credits scene played in theaters, X-Men fans knew that the appearance of Essex Corp. was hinting at the arrival of Mr. Sinister in the X-Men movie franchise. However, since the character also has ties to other 20th Century Fox-owned Marvel characters such as Deadpool and Gambit, we weren't sure if the tease was simply setting up another X-Men movie or maybe something different. But now we have our answer, and this is presumably the villain Boyd Holbrook signed on to play.

However, just because Mr. Sinister appears in Wolverine 3 doesn't mean he can't appear in the next X-Men sequel (which is supposed to take place in the 90s and likely head to space to redo the Dark Phoenix saga), or even the developing Deadpool sequel. It remains to be seen if a franchise like Deadpool will continue to have more tissue connecting the Merc with a Mouth to the X-Men universe, but anything is possible.

Since Apocalypse was poorly conceived for the big screen, here's hoping director James Mangold has figured out a way to make Mr. Sinster work better in Wolverine 3. As for when we might get a taste of what this movie will be like, the director responded to a fan on Twitter:

Since 20th Century Fox has Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children hitting theaters later this month, there's a chance a teaser trailer could arrive then. After all, the movie feels like Tim Burton's own X-Men: First Class, with a tinge of Days of Future Past time travel. But at the same time, Assassin's Creed with X-Men franchise star Michael Fassbender would also be a prime spot for a Wolverine 3 teaser. Either way, it's a safe bet we'll get it before the end of the year, so just be patient and stay tuned.

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