Hugh Jackman may have previously suggested that Wolverine joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) could coax him out of retirement. Now that Disney is all but ready to buy Fox, fans are excited to see the claw-wielding mutant appearing alongside the Avengers on the same screen. Unfortunately, it may already be too late for the actor to star in that crossover.

When asked about the possibility of Wolverine's potential MCU appearance, Jackman told Collider that he has fully moved on from his superhero gig.

"It's interesting because for the whole 17 years I kept thinking that would be so great, like I would love to see, particularly, Iron Man and the Hulk and Wolverine together," he shared. "And every time I saw an 'Avengers' movie I could just see Wolverine in the middle of all of them like punching them all on the head."

Throughout those years, Jackman said he thought it is a far-fetched idea. Once talks of Disney/Fox buyout heat up, he admitted: "I was like, 'Hang on!' But I think, unfortunately, the ship has sailed for me, but for someone else I would like to see Wolverine in there."

Jackman previously expressed interest in suiting up with the Avengers just like in Marvel comic books. But with the release of director James Mangold's "Logan" earlier this year, the actor announced he was done with the role he first portrayed in 2000's "X-Men."

In hindsight, it is just a case of bad timing. Everything started to come together just when the actor hung up his claws when it could have happened a couple of years ago.

Then again, even if the Mouse House acquires Fox, there is no telling when the latter's superheroes would make their way into the MCU. Both studios have already announced their respective slates for the next couple of years.

For Fox, it has "The New Mutants," "Deadpool 2," and "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" in the pipeline, while Marvel has a handful of them set for release within the next two years. So, unless Fox's plans are scrapped, it might be a while before any "X-Men" character debuts in a Marvel film. If anything, it may take beyond "Avengers 4" for it to happen.

The fourth installment of the superhero franchise arrives on May 3, 2019.