X-Men fans are excited that Aussie actor Hugh Jackman is returning to play Wolverine one more time with Deadpool 3 giving the actor a second chance to say goodbye after previously having a deeply emotion death scene in Logan. It also gives director Shawn Levy an excuse to give Fox’s Singerverse a proper send-off after the franchise previously ended with thud during the wake of Disney acquiring 21st Century Fox. Jackman landing the beloved mutant part in the late 1990s is of the more interesting Hollywood stories as the mostly unknown stage actor had some stiff competition but ultimately landed the part once Scottish Dougray Scott had to exit the superhero flick to focus on John Woo’s Mission: Impossible 2. One of those more notable contenders that was in the mix was Canadian actor Keanu Reeves after having starred in the wildly popular cyberpunk flick The Matrix.
Today, during a Reddit Ask Me Anything session to promote the upcoming release of John Wick 4, Reeves reaffirmed losing out to Jackman for the Wolverine role in the original X-Men films was something his still laments.
When directly asked by a fan were any roles he regrets turning down the actor said, “No…but I did always want to play Wolverine.”
It’s a little heartbreaking to hear that over 20 years later that Reeves still considers it the one that got away. Also, a bit ironic that Reeves didn’t get the part since X-Men shot in Toronto, a city where he grew up, and Fox decided to pick an Australian to play a Canadian character.
Reeves is now pushing 60 and just is too long in the tooth to be playing the main version of Wolverine in the MCU once the studio actually hard-reboots the X-Men franchise after Deadpool 3 releases. The actor has been keen to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe since and studio head Kevin Feige has reiterated they’ve been trying to find a role for him multiple times. It does feel like he’ll end up finding something other than Wolverine and we’ll just have to wait to see that is.
SOURCE: REDDIT AMA
THE RONIN 