Taron Egerton has revealed not only that he will probably not play the Wolverine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but that he is now too old to be cast as the Marvel character he actually wants to play in the franchise.
In an interview with Total Film, the actor opened up about meeting Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and pitching a different character for him to play in the MCU than Wolverine. "Well, the one that I mentioned is up for grabs, but I’m too old for it now. I think that ship has probably sailed," he admitted. However, the actor failed to disclose which character he was interested in playing and whether it was a hero or a villain.
Egerton Doubts He's the Next Wolverine
Egerton first gained worldwide recognition starring in Matthew Vaughn’s 2014 film Kingsman: The Secret Service. The breakout role led to the Marvel fandom fancasting him as the MCU's Wolverine, with Egerton even expressing that he would be open to playing the beloved mutant in the franchise. However, during his Total Film interview, Egerton implied that Marvel was no longer interested in the actor for the role: "I’m not going to be the guy to play Wolverine. There’s no signs pointing towards that being the thing. And I just don’t know if I’m maybe...I don’t know."
He continued, "Maybe I’m getting to the point where that’s not what I want any more. I don’t know. I’d never say never, and I do love those movies. I’ve really enjoyed watching them over the past 10, 15 years. But whether I... You know, it may not be that they’re the right thing for me any more. I think maybe I’m past the point where that felt like the right thing [for my career]."
Hugh Jackman's Wolverine Returns for Deadpool 3
While some fans may be bummed out to learn that Egerton's interest in Wolverine has diminished, they still have the arrival of Hugh Jackman's version of the mutant to look forward to in the MCU. The actor will be reprising his role as Logan/Wolverine from 20th Century Studios' X-Men franchise in Marvel Studios' Deadpool 3, with the film using time travel shenanigans to avoid Wolverine's death in 2017's Logan.
Deadpool 3 will mark Jackman's tenth time playing Logan/Wolverine. He first portrayed Weapon X in 2000's X-Men and went on to appear as a lead character in X2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). His popularity as the character led to three solo films, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), The Wolverine (2013) and Logan (2017) as well as cameos in X-Men: First Class (2011) and X-Men: Apocolypse (2016). Deadpool 3 is currently scheduled to open in theaters on Nov. 8, 2024, as the first film in Phase 6 of the MCU.
Source: Total Film