Hugh Jackman left his mark on comic book films after twenty years in the X-Men franchise playing Wolverine, one of the most iconic superheroes to hit the big screen. However, he almost wasn't cast, as screenwriter David Hayter recently revealed.
Hayter, who was involved in casting for the Fox film, explained, "The first time Hugh Jackman read, he didn't get cast. He was great, but he was the nicest guy in the world and he was very tall and super handsome, so we didn't think he was Wolverine." The description reflected some of the complaints some audiences had with Jackman's Wolverine at the time. Though over the years, those issues subsided and the actor became a fan-favorite.
The role might have gone to actor Dougray Scott instead, according to Hayter. "Tom Rothman, the head of Fox, said it was going to be Dougray Scott, so we cast him while he was doing Mission: Impossible II and we kept getting calls from Tom Cruise saying, 'We just need him a little longer,'" He said. "When we were about to start shooting the movie, we hadn't seen Wolverine or fit him for costumes so we sent costumer Louise Mingenbach down to Australia to fit him, and it turned out he had been in a motorcycle accident shooting Mission: Impossible II and he's dropped down to like 150 pounds. It just wasn't going to work."
The film proved to be Jackman's breakout role, and one he return to time and time again for major roles and cameos throughout the X-Men saga. The actor previously explained that it was Fox head Tom Rothman advised him to go to a screening of the film in order to get a sense of how important the film was to audiences. Jackman stated that when he did attend a screening, audiences cheered for Wolverine, though the general public was still unaware of who the actor was.
Jackman said his farewells to Wolverine in 2017's Logan, which saw the end of the character in Fox's franchise. Though fans have called for his return in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jackman remains adamant that he is finished with the character, stating in 2021, "Let's just be clear. I realized, before we shot Logan, I was like, we got the idea. We knew what it was going to be-ish, right? And I thought this is it. And that really helped me, it really helped knowing I was going into my last season, that it was my last season that I made the most of it. And it’s still a character I hold close to my heart. But I know it's done."
It was recently reported that Marvel Studios will introduce a new Wolverine to the big screen, not played by Jackman, but a mystery actor. Rumors suggest the character will appear in the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, nothing has been officially confirmed.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to hit screens on May 6, 2022.
Source: Inverse