Before Hugh Jackman made history in the X-Men saga, these actors were in contention to bring Wolverine to life on film.
We know, nowadays it’s hard to imagine someone giving life to Wolverines on the big screen other than Hugh Jackman. Since his appearance in the first film of X Men (2000) until his farewell in Logan (2017), the Australian actor proudly wore the claws of the mutant and made the character one of the most popular of the marvel universe. Therefore, it might surprise many that Jackman was not the first candidate proposed by the defunct 20th Century Fox to join the team made up of the teacher Charles Xavier. In fact, before him there were some actors who were even offered contracts to play Wolverines.
Which actors were considered to play Wolverine?
In the late 1990s, after multiple delays and have discarded at least three hyphens20th Century Fox licensed the production of X Menthe long-awaited film based on the comic series namesake distributed by Marvel and created by jack kirby Y Stan Lee.
Also read: Find out why Hugh Jackman felt lonely playing Wolverine in X-Men
With Bryan Singer at the helm, the project advanced to its initial stages with a small problem: there was not yet a defined cast. Though Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen confirmed their participation immediately, they still had to choose who would embody the mutants of Team X, especially the outsider who would become their leader: Wolverines.
That was how Fox and the producers got involved in a years searchapproached famous actors and even considered proposals that no one could have imagined. These were the strongest candidates:
Russell Crowe
The actor Russell Crowe was the first choice Bryan Singer to interpret to Wolverines. However, the Australian did not feel comfortable with the idea of pigeonholing himself within the action hero figure. The reason? He had just finished filming Gladiatorribbon Ridley Scott where he played Maximus Decimus Meridus.
“Bryan was my friend at the time and he was really pushing me. If you check the past, Maximus had a wolf in the center of his armor and there was also a wolf in his company. I thought that would be a big problem. So I said no because I didn’t want to be ‘El Lobo’ or be called ‘Mr. Wolf’“he told the Fitzy and Wippa show.
The bet worked and Crowe established himself as one of the Academy’s favorite actors receiving two nominations and an Oscar for Best Actor –precisely for Gladiator– between 1999 and 2001.
Douglas Scott
With Crowe’s rejection, Singer restarted his search and pinned his interest on the Scottish actor. Douglas Scottwho had just appeared in the movie Deep Impactalongside Téa Leoni, Morgan Freeman and Elijah Wood.
After his audition, 20th Century Fox offered Scott a contract where a sequel was already contemplated of the movie. Even though everything seemed to be moving smoothly, the actor had to leave the project due to scheduling problems with another of the films in which he was engaged: Mission Impossible 2.
“Tom Cruise wouldn’t let me do it. We were doing Mission Impossible 2 and He told me something like ‘You have to stay to finish the movie’. I told him I would, but I would also go do this one. For some reason he wouldn’t let me do it. He had a lot of power and other people were doing everything they could to make things work,” Scott told The Telegraph.
The search began…again.
Glenn Danzig
Approaching the agreed date to start shooting the film, the studio interfered in the casting of Singer and proposed to the singer Glenn DanzigFounder of the band The Misfits.
Fox executives already they had Danzig in mind since the mid-nineties and they considered him the ideal candidate due to his appearance, similar to Logan’s in the comics. Dazing even noted in 1995 that he was waiting for a final version of the X-Men script to decide whether or not to accept the role. Luckily, his commitments to the Danzig gang forced him to step aside and not accept the offer.
Mel Gibson
Another of the actors who appeared on Fox’s list of candidates was Mel Gibson. In fact, the Australian – yes, another Australian actor – was in talks with the studio before the project commanded by Bryan Singer will close 100%.
The proposal did not advance and Gibson was left out of the casting options for the first X-Men movie. Although the Oscar-winning actor and director has never spoken on the subject, his candidacy regained media relevance in 2014, when a supposed design of Miles Teves where the actor is seen with misaligned hair and claws adamantium of Wolverines.
Viggo Mortensen
Before Hugh Jackman auditioned for Wolverine – on Russell Crowe’s recommendation – Singer sought out American actor Viggo Mortensen to talk about the project. According to the actor a few years ago, he received the script and agreed to an interview with the director to which he would go. accompanied by his then 10-year-old son. The latter became an important piece in the negotiation, believing that the approach to the character proposed by the film was incorrect.
“I brought Henry to the meeting I had with the director as my kind of good luck charm and guide. In the back of my mind, I was thinking that he might learn something too, because I let Henry read the script and he was like, ‘This is wrong, isn’t it.’Mortensen told the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast. “The rest of the meeting was him (Bryan Singer) explaining in detail to Henry why he was taking certain liberties. We walked out of there and Henry asked me if I would change the things that he told him and I said, ‘I don’t think so’“.
Given the doubt of his son and his fear of committing too long to a single charactertoday’s Oscar nominee rejected any offer.
Other actors who were considered to play Wolverine
According to different media, actors such as Jean Claude Van Damme, Keanu Reeves, Aaron Eckhart Y Edward Norton were also considered to give life to Wolverines.
As we all know, the chosen one was Hugh Jackmanwho barely added his first credits as an actor outside of Australia and who kept the role after audition just 3 weeks before the start of filming.
With the purchase of Fox by Disney, much has been rumored about the possible return of the mutant to the screens. Although the closure that Jackman gave to his work with Logan It could not have been more accurate, there are those who say that we should not rule out seeing him once again wearing the character’s sideburns and claws. Although the new generation of performers are also asking for their chance to become a X Menwith the young Taron Egerton –who shared the screen with Jackman in Eddie the Eagle– confessing that he has already met with executives from Marvel Studios to discuss the future ofWolverine” (as he is known in Spain).
Could it be that we will see another or other actors giving life to Wolverines in the future?
Join a Wolverine adventure with Marvel Comics Mexico and SMASH
The unusual suspects!
Stolen goods, a burned ship and a missing sword. Wolverines is on the case, but what kind of mind games does he play solem? Coming soon, Logan will come face to face with the pirate arakkii and the king of crime, Sevyr Blackmore.
Will their fight help him uncover the clues he needs to catch solem or will it just be a distraction that will put him right where that manipulative mutant wants him?
Later, Jeff Banistera CIA agent, discovers a secret surveillance device used to spy on Krakoa. Anyone want the mic back now bannister out of contention. Wolverines and his friend flee, but where will they find a safe haven?
SMASH Y marvel comics they bring for you Wolverine – Vol. 3a special edition that collects the Wolverine issues #14-19published in 2020. Let yourself be captivated by this story written by Benjamin Percy and illustrated by adam kubert, lan medina, Paco Diaz Y Javier Fernandez. Buy it now!
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