While Hugh Jackman and other actors made their X-Men roles iconic, many A-list stars were considered for parts in the Marvel comic book franchise.
Although Kevin Feige has said itll be a while before mutants show up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, since the rights to the X-Men characters reverted back to Marvel in the Disney/Fox merger, the X-Men franchise will eventually get an Avengers-adjacent reboot. All the iconic roles will need to be cast again, having already been cast twice in the Fox series.
RELATED:5 Directors Who Almost Helmed An X-Men Movie (& 5 Who Should)
In Foxs X-Men franchise, most of the casting was spot-on. Even the worstX-Men movies featured some of the greatest actors in the world, from James McAvoy to Michael Fassbender to Jennifer Lawrence. But they were rarely the first choices for their roles.
Hugh Jackman was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest on-screen stint as a superhero after playing Wolverine across two decades.
From his introduction as a hotshot young renegade inthe original movie to his tragic R-rated swansong in James Mangolds neo-western gem Logan, Jackmans Wolverine was one of the most complex, lovable, fascinating comic book heroes on the big screen.
Russell Crowe was the original choice to play Wolverine, but he turned down the part as he considered it to be too close to the role he played in Gladiator. Aaron Eckhart, Viggo Mortensen, Edward Norton, and Keanu Reeves all met with the producers to discuss the role.
Dougray Scott was cast but had to drop out due to his commitments to Mission: Impossible II. Crowe then suggested his friend Hugh Jackman to the producers and the rest is history.
Before Heath Ledger played the Joker or Michael B. Jordan played Erik Killmonger, and even before Alfred Molina played Doctor Octopus, Ian McKellen set a high bar for big-screen portrayals of supervillains as Magneto in X-Men and its sequels.
McKellen has a warm personality in real life, but he brought a real sinister edge to Magneto in the X-Men franchise. He also brought a humanity to Magneto that made a compelling case for his side of the mutant rights argument.
Before Ian McKellen was cast to play Magneto in X-Men, a few legendary actors of his caliber were considered for the part, including John Hurt, Christopher Lee, and Terence Stamp.
David Hemblen, who had previously voiced Magneto on the fan-favorite cartoon X-Men: The Animated Series, was also considered for the role.
Since Disney acquired 21st Century Fox and the X-Men franchise is about to get a reboot in the MCU, the proposed X-23 spin-off will probably never happen, which would be a real tragedy because the character got one heck of an introduction in Logan.
RELATED:Logan: 10 Ways It's The Best Wolverine Movie (By Far)
Wolverines long-lost cloned daughter was given all of her fathers unbridled rage, but with a dash of childhood naivety, in a powerful performance by Dafne Keen.
Millie Bobby Brown did a screen test for the role of Laura in Logan before Dafne Keen was cast. In her audition, she performed the scene in which Laura hits Logan opposite Hugh Jackman.
Interestingly, the scene in which Laura goes into a convenience store and uses the immunity provided by her superpowers to take whatever she wants ended up having presumably unintentional parallels with a similar Eggo-heist scene revolving around Browns star-making role Eleven in Netflixs Stranger Things.
Patrick Stewart apparently wasnt content with playing just one sci-fi icon, having starred as Captain Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation for seven seasons, so he took on the role of Charles Xavier, too.
Stewart is a formidable actor, bringing pathos to every scene, and he also shared terrific chemistry with Ian McKellen, creating a tangible dynamic between their friends-turned-mortal-enemies duo. When Xavier and Magneto share the screen, it has the weight of a meeting of titans because, in many ways, it is.
Before Patrick Stewart was cast to play Charles Xavier, Michael Jackson met with Marvel about possibly playing the part. Jackson wasnt much of an actor, but he wouldve given the movie a lot of star power.
RELATED:X-Men: 10 Characters And The MCU Icons They Should Team Up With
Jackson was such a huge Marvel fan that he once tried to buy Marvel Comics just so he could play Spider-Man in a movie.
After considering Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, and Jada Pinkett Smith for the role of Ororo Munroe, the producers of X-Men finally cast Halle Berry in the role.
Like her co-star Hugh Jackman, Berry nailed both the subtler nuances of her character and the more physical demands of playing a superhero.
In the 90s, James Cameron was interested in producing a movie called Wolverine and the X-Men and met with Stan Lee and Chris Claremont about securing the film rights to the X-Men.
This project wouldve been directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Gary Goldman. Angela Bassett was cast to play Storm, while Bob Hoskins was eyed for the role of Wolverine. Eventually, the movie fell through when Cameron moved on to an R-rated Spider-Man film project that similarly never materialized.
NEXT:MCU: 5 Roles That Were Perfectly Cast (& 5 Actors Who Almost Played Them)
Next 10 Superhero Movies To Watch If You Liked Birds Of Prey
Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, and independent filmmaker, and he's good at at least two of those things. In addition to writing for Screen Rant and Comic Book Resources, covering everything from Scorsese to Spider-Man, Ben directs independent films and does standup comedy. He's currently in pre-production on his first feature film, Hunting Trip, and has been for a while because filmmaking is expensive. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema and BabbleTop.
Read more:
X-Men: 5 Roles That Were Perfectly Cast (& 5 Actors Who Almost Played Them) - Screen Rant
- Christopher Lee Was Furious About This 'Lord of the Rings' Moment - Collider - April 2nd, 2024
- Airdate: The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee - TV Tonight - April 2nd, 2024
- Christopher Lee's casual shorts and slippers outfit in Taiwan made heads turn - TODAY - March 16th, 2024
- Christopher Lee Dead: Horror Icon and Legendary Movie Villain Was 93 ... - February 19th, 2024
- "Chris wasn't hearing a bar of it": Christopher Lee Forcefully Auditioned For Another Lord of the Rings Character Before ... - FandomWire - February 11th, 2024
- 'Cancel everything': How Christopher Lee disciplines his son with this one phrase - Yahoo Singapore News - February 3rd, 2024
- Actress Fann Wong surprised by husband Christopher Lee on birthday - The Straits Times - February 3rd, 2024
- Fann Wong surprised by husband Christopher Lee on birthday - The New Paper - February 3rd, 2024
- Christopher Lee: The actor and hunter of Nazi war criminals - Far Out Magazine - January 9th, 2024
- Sir Christopher Lee's Favorite Performance is in a Film You've Never Heard Of - MovieWeb - December 12th, 2023
- Christopher Lee dies at the age of 93 - The Guardian - April 27th, 2023
- Christopher Lee - Tolkien Gateway - March 31st, 2023
- Christopher Lee filmography - Wikipedia - February 10th, 2023
- Where to Start with Christopher Lee - The Film Magazine - October 19th, 2022
- 'Were you desperate to get proposed to?' Christopher Lee crashes Rebecca Lim's new show and roasts her while dishing out relationship advice - AsiaOne - October 19th, 2022
- The Wicker Man TV Series In Development With Andy Serkis The Imaginarium And Studiocanal-Backed Urban Myth - Deadline - October 19th, 2022
- Tim Burton names his five favourite horror movies of all time - Far Out Magazine - October 19th, 2022
- Ten celebrities who served in the military, from Adam Driver to Prince Harry - The National - October 19th, 2022
- These 13 Actors Have Earned the Right to be Called Scream Kings - Dread Central - October 19th, 2022
- David W. Smith | Obituaries | thedailynewsonline.com - The Daily News Online - October 19th, 2022
- Jennifer Hudson Recounts "Fanning Out" Over Duet With Sheryl Lee Ralph: "I Wanted to Make Her Proud" - POPSUGAR - October 19th, 2022
- Tangipahoa Parish Jail - October 11th, 2022
- A monster calls: why the horror universe is an idea whose time has come - The Guardian - October 11th, 2022
- Oblong Box, The (Blu-ray Review) - The Digital Bits - October 11th, 2022
- Was that the balrog that killed Gandalf in the Rings of Power? - Polygon - October 11th, 2022
- Every James Bond movie ranked by critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes - Insider - October 11th, 2022
- Overwatch 2: All Voice Actors And Cast - eXputer - October 11th, 2022
- She got Covid-19 four times this year alone - The Star Online - October 11th, 2022
- Nursing School Collaborates with Nursing School in The Philippines - Boston College - October 2nd, 2022
- The Terrifying, Terrific Horror Movies of 1972 - Nerdist - October 2nd, 2022
- Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: A beautiful conclusion to the iconic trilogy - The Shield - October 2nd, 2022
- Tyson Fury through the years: Photo gallery - MMA Junkie - October 2nd, 2022
- Duncan man jailed, accused of madness on meth - The Lawton Constitution - September 24th, 2022
- Conor McGregor "can't believe" he's being paid to film Hollywood movie - The Mirror - September 24th, 2022
- The Government of Malaysia Launches the National Energy Policy 2022 - 2040: What it Means for the Renewables Landscape - Lexology - September 24th, 2022
- New Brockton native Brandon Lee part of team cherishing NASCAR win at Bristol - Dothan Eagle - September 24th, 2022
- Cape Cod theater reviewers' thoughts on 2 scary plays and a comedy - Cape Cod Times - September 24th, 2022
- 'His presence is going to be there': Lee Roy Selmon will attend in spirit as trio of OU brothers honored with statue - The Oklahoma Daily - September 24th, 2022
- Nicolas Cage inspired by Christopher Lee for vampire movie Renfield - The Digital Fix - September 16th, 2022
- Reece Shearsmith Tells Richard Herring About Christopher Lee - Beyond The Joke - September 16th, 2022
- 8 Horror Movies So Awful They Were Pulled From The Cinema - WhatCulture - September 16th, 2022
- Man-Thing Makes his MCU Debut in Werewolf by Night - Here's what we know about Man-Thing - Attack of the Fanboy - September 16th, 2022
- Summer of Blood (Blu-ray Review) - The Digital Bits - September 16th, 2022
- Get it over with: Suspect in Kokomo child exploitation case tells police to arrest him on the spot - FOX 59 Indianapolis - September 16th, 2022
- Alabama says it won't be ready to use nitrogen hypoxia method at Sept. 22 execution - USA TODAY - September 16th, 2022
- Christopher Lee, The Real-Life "Most Interesting Man In The World" - August 31st, 2022
- Inside The Fact And Fiction Of Christopher Lee's World War II Service - August 31st, 2022
- How to watch The Lord of the Rings movies and the series in chronological order - Lifestyle Asia India - August 31st, 2022
- Court and arrest reports for Martinsville and Henry County - Martinsville Bulletin - August 31st, 2022
- Every Tim Burton Movie Ranked from Worst to Best - Consequence - August 31st, 2022
- Court lists defendants to appear in Criminal Division on Thursday - Magnoliareporter - August 31st, 2022
- Lee County School Board makes minor revision to Parents' Bill of Rights - Wink News - August 31st, 2022
- A Cardiologist Breaks Down the AHA's New Report on the Most Common Heart Disease Symptoms Best Life - Best Life - August 31st, 2022
- Exclusive Interview: Director Philippe Mora On His Films With Christopher Lee - FANGORIA - August 14th, 2022
- 10 films turning 10 in 2022 - NewsNation Now - August 14th, 2022
- Persephone and the Poultry of the Night | Thumper Forge - Patheos - August 14th, 2022
- Unexpected Demands Made By Lord Of The Rings Actors - Looper - August 14th, 2022
- Rings of Power: Everything you need to know about Amazon's 1bn Lord of the Rings prequel - The Mirror - August 14th, 2022
- Slash Tells Us Why There Will Never Be a Guns N Roses Movie - MovieMaker Magazine - August 6th, 2022
- On the record for Aug. 4 - Seymour Tribune - August 6th, 2022
- Judge Talley will hear criminal docket on Thursday - Magnoliareporter - August 6th, 2022
- Dr. Christopher Reber Receives ACCT 2022 Northeast Regional Chief Executive Officer Award - The Hudson Reporter - August 6th, 2022
- Theatre Review: This 101 Dalmatians is barking up the wrong tree - The New European - August 6th, 2022
- Christopher Lee Euro Films, Dennis Hopper's 'Out of the Blue' Among Titles Due on Disc From Severin and MVD July 26 Media Play News - Media Play News - July 28th, 2022
- 25 Scariest Movies of All Time (2022 Edition) - Cultured Vultures - July 28th, 2022
- Fans Wonder Why a Fantasy Epic Too Big to Fail Did Just That - We Got This Covered - July 28th, 2022
- The Best Witch Movies of all Time, Ranked - The Mary Sue - July 28th, 2022
- NASCAR Driver Christopher Bell and CRAFTSMAN Raise Awareness for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals; No. 20 Special Edition Paint Scheme to be... - July 28th, 2022
- Singer Stefanie Sun turns 44 with cakes and loved ones - The Straits Times - July 28th, 2022
- Tony Dow dead: Wally Cleaver 'Leave It to Beaver' actor was 77 - USA TODAY - July 28th, 2022
- Roane Co. authorities looking for man convicted of neglecting and murdering an elderly relative - WBIR.com - July 20th, 2022
- 22 Incredible Facts About The Life and Career Of Sir Christopher Lee - July 20th, 2022
- Police and Fire Report - Winchester Sun - Winchester Sun - July 20th, 2022
- What We Do in the Shadows cast shares their favorite vampire movies, books, and more - Polygon - July 20th, 2022
- Courteney Cox Set To Make Horror Movie History With 'Scream 6' - We Got This Covered - July 20th, 2022
- Every James Bond Movie, Ranked: The Best of Bond - CNET - July 20th, 2022
- Grandparents of Dean Kerrie say he was just defending his mother and should not be jailed - Sunday World - July 20th, 2022
- Ray Wise Has Always Been More Than "That Guy" - Defector - July 20th, 2022
- Angela Ledgerwood on the Psychic Relief of Reading - Literary Hub - July 20th, 2022
- Athens man charged with manslaughter in fatal hit and run - News Courier - July 12th, 2022
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero