Casting larger than life characters for huge movie projects is an incredibly difficult job that comes with a lot of weight. The people choosing these roles need to make sure that they are casting the right actor for the job, as one bad decision can sink an entire project. Whether it is for Marvel, DC, or Star Wars, each role needs to be filled properly for the film to become a hit.
During the 90s, it was time for the X-Men to hit the big screen, and the casting process for Wolverine was not an easy one. At one time, it seemed as though Mel Gibson was going to play the character, which is unbelievable to think about at this point.
Let’s take a look back and see the history behind the casting of Wolverine!
Bob Hoskins Was In Early Contention
To understand the entire picture of this casting process, we need to head back to the 90s when the original film was in development. During that time, the studio behind X-Men believed that they had found their Wolverine, but things would drastically shift over time.
Business Insider reports that none other than Bob Hoskins was the man that was going to be playing Wolverine in that first film. By that point, Hoskins had been in huge films like Hook, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and more, meaning that he had a wealth of experience on the big screen. With plenty of acclaim to his name and a recognizable face, Hoskins was certainly an interesting choice.
Now, it should be noted here that Hoskins was on the shorter and stockier side, which fits the comic book version of the character quite well. One of the early criticism of Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of Wolverine is the fact that Jackman is much taller than the character is supposed to be, which is silly, especially when considering how great he was in the role.
Eventually, however, Hoskins would end up not securing the gig or appearing in the movie. What this meant was that the casting team was going to have to go back to the drawing board to find someone who could step on in and take on the iconic comic book character.
Mel Gibson Is The Next Man Up
With Bob Hoskins out of the picture and a huge role still needing to be filled, the folks behind the first film featuring our favorite mutants shifted their attention to a talented actor who already had a ton of successful films under his belt.
By the time Mel Gibson was in consideration for the role of Wolverine, Gibson had already starred in the Mad Max films, the Lethal Weapon franchise, and had also anchored films like Braveheart and the animated hit Pocahontas. He was a legitimate A-list movie star that still had good standing with the fans and the media.
Gibson certainly would have made for an interesting choice for Wolverine. Business Insider reports that the studio also was looking into casting Russell Crowe for the role, as well. As it turns out, neither of these men would eventually land the role.
This entire process must have been an absolute nightmare during that time, given the fact that they missed on a lot of talented performers for such an important role. It would take some time, but eventually, the studio was finally able to get an actor to stick. Well, at least for a little while.
Dougray Scott Backs Out, Hugh Jackman Steps Up
Thanks to multiple actors being courted and never sticking to the project, the door had officially opened for actor Dougray Scott to land the role of Wolverine. But, instead of being able to help take X-Men to the top of the box office, Scott would eventually have to bow out of the film.
That’s right, once again, Fox was going to have to go back to the drawing board with its most popular character. Scott was seemingly good to go, but Business Insider shows that he wound up dropping out of the role due to his commitments with the film Mission: Impossible II.
This long, tedious process eventually concluded when the virtually unknown Hugh Jackman was cast as the character. Turns out, this was a stroke of genius by the studio, as Jackman went on to make Wolverine an iconic big-screen character. Throughout the years and films, Jackman wowed audiences and set a bar that few actors will ever come close to matching as a character actor.
So, while Mel Gibson was a strong contender to play Wolverine during the 90s, things wound up working out just well for everyone.