While Marvel gets their post- “Avengers: Endgame” house in order, many fans still wonder when we’ll see a new iteration of the “X-Men” and who will replace Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. While Jackman has previously supported Tom Hardy (“Venom”) for the part, the persistent rumor, or fan-casting, if you will, won’t go away.
For some unlikely reason, “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe has been one of the most consistent fan-casting wishes to take up the Mutant claws in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Radcliffe recently downplayed the validity of his involvement with the “X-Men” role while promoting “The Lost City.”
Today, while appearing on the talk show “The View” (via Entertainment Weekly), Radcliffe commented on the rumor pouring cold water all over it by saying, “there’s never been any actual truth to it.”
“I deny, yes,” he said when co-host Ana Navarro pressed him on Wolverine rumor during Monday’s episode of the ‘The View.” “This is something that comes up every so often; I think because in the comics, Wolverine is short, so every so often they’re like, ‘Who’s a short actor?’ There’s never been any actual truth to it. Every so often, I get bored of answering the questions sensibly, so I just make a joke like I did the other day, and that sort of has reignited the rumors of it, but there’s nothing going on.”
This is certainly a blunt response, and he’s obviously quick to point out his height has a lot to do with why fans want him in the role. While many fans might assume that the actor is simply lying about being in the mix, early in the casting process for “Moon Knight,” Radcliffe also had to deny online rumblings publicly he would play the Marvel character. That obviously was a bunk rumor because Oscar Isaac, a much older actor, was selected to play the character as the series debuts later this month on Disney+.
Marvel’s Kevin Feige once cautioned that the “X-Men” wasn’t coming any time soon after Disney had bought Fox, given that “Dark Phoenix” was only in 2019, and he clearly wanted some distance from that version. He suggested a timeline that wouldn’t introduce the X-Men group until circa 2025, and given the way the MCU is shaping up right now, that presumed date still feels accurate. Likely the first mutant fans will see in the MCU is Deadpool in “Deadpool 3,” which is taking shape and feels like it’ll be ready for early 2024, given the already-busy and packed Marvel release date line-up.
While “The View” video isn’t currently online, Radcliffe’s made similar statements in the past (ET, 2019, see below) and reiterated similar sentiments on Jimmy Fallon last week.