Comic book movies should be based on comic books, but the writers and directors are given some freedom when they make the interpretation on the big screen. 'The Wolverine 3' (tentative title) is projected to be the last appearance of Hugh Jackman as the Canadian mutant with the adamantium claws and coincidentally, a new story arc is announced.

From Entertainment Weekly, the new story arc seems to provide an exit plan for the Australian actor:

"Marvel has been teasing a radical new development in Wolverine's history with this summer's story arc, '3 Months to Die,'which robs Wolverine of his healing factor, the mutant power that has kept him alive and kicking through decades of fatal injuries. Now, EW is excited to announce exclusively that '3 Months to Die' will culminate in a 4-part miniseries in September called, simply, Death of Wolverine."

There seems to be no suspense in the announcement. They are following the approach of "The Death Of Superman" in the early 90s. DC no longer kept it a secret-they wanted to reinvent Superman. Is this the same direction for Wolverine?

Michael Marts, Marvel editor also teased:  "For a long time, no matter who Wolverine was battling, he's been the eternal victor. He almost always comes out on top. Now he finally comes up against an adversary that he cannot win against, he cannot fight. What does that mean for this character who's been around for hundred years?"

The stakes are higher now with the superhero movies. It is likely that the movie studios are coordinating with the comic writers. Real world concerns like an aging actor could come into play.

Director James Mangold has mentioned that Wolverine has a lot of rich story arcs to adapt, but none of them contains an exit plan. Thus, it would not be difficult to make the connection.

Marts continues: "You're gonna be entering into a world without Wolverine. That affects not only his teammates, but also the Marvel Universe at large. We've got a lot of things in the works already."

The comic book world is open to endless possibilities. One of them could be the answer to the Wolverine movie conundrum: How do you translate a character who doesn't age on film without losing integrity? The idea of re-casting is all but unacceptable. Marvel Studios explored the same angle for Iron Man, with the logic that in the action scenes, it's the armor that we get to watch. Yet, the idea was also rejected.

If it could not work with Iron Man, all the more for Wolverine. Hugh Jackman has done his best to keep up with the physical demands of the role, but he can't keep up for long.

The third Wolverine solo movie which is as yet untitled is scheduled for a March 3, 2017 release.