“The Office” alum Stephen Merchant is set to join Hugh Jackman in “Wolverine 3,” an individual familiar with the discussions told TheWrap.
Boyd Holbrook will play the villain, while Richard E. Grant will play a mad scientist. Patrick Stewart is also expected to reprise his role as mutant maestro Charles Xavier, aka Professor X.
James Mangold is directing the comic book movie, which will mark Jackman’s final run as the clawed hero. 20th Century Fox will release the superhero sequel on March 3, 2017.
Merchant is a longtime collaborator of Ricky Gervais, as the two worked together on “The Office,” “Extras” and “Life’s Too Short,” among other projects. The British actor will soon be seen in Jeffrey Blitz’s ensemble comedy “Table 19.”
And to clarify, Merchant is not in talks to join “Transformers 5.” He was mistakenly included in the subhead of a recent story about Isabela Moner due to a technical error, and was not referenced in the copy. Merchant is represented by WME, United Agents and Nelson Davis.