Taron Egerton has been a popular fancast (and even rumored) to play the MCU’s new Wolverine for years, but the star isn’t interested in the role – and he has a good reason.
After Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and all of its superhero assets, everyone had the same question: when would the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduce its version of the X-Men?
Excluding Ms Marvel being a mutant, the franchise has leaned on previous actors, like Patrick Stewart’s Professor X showing up in Doctor Strange 2 and Hugh Jackman reprising his role in Deadpool & Wolverine.
A new X-Men movie is in early development, and it’s believed the team will be the franchise’s focus in the wake of Secret Wars’ reboot. Whatever happens, just don’t get your hopes up for Egerton playing Wolverine.
Taron Egerton responds to Wolverine rumors (again)
In interviews around the release of Smoke, his new Apple TV+ series, Egerton explained how his feelings on the prospect of playing Wolverine have evolved over the years.
During an appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, the star said it’s “lovely” that people still see him as a possible successor to Jackman.
“The trouble is, whenever I get asked about this, I have to respond because I hope I’m a reasonably polite person, but it sounds like I’m the one forcing it. I’m trying to live my life,” he said, laughing.
“There was a moment… where I thought, ‘That’d be cool,'” he admitted, but it “never came to anything… Hugh came back, and quite right too.”
Would he be interested if they asked him now? “Frankly, if they were to do it… they are some big shoes to fill. Also… I don’t know that I want that much attention on me, frankly. I just don’t know if that’d do me any good, man,” Egerton explained.
“I love acting, I love making films, and I love the TV work I’ve been a part of, but I’m very comfortable with the level it’s at now where I get asked for a selfie maybe a couple of times a day. The other thing that people experience, I just don’t know that I’m built for it.”
In Egerton’s eyes, it’ll be an incredibly hard task for an actor to follow Jackman’s legendary tenure. “It’s quite strange, but it’s flattering,” he told THR.
“It’s always lovely to think that anybody would want you to play a beloved role, but I also think no one is ever going to accept anyone in that role other than Hugh Jackman. He’s completely synonymous with it.”
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