Hugh Jackman has revealed that he was originally offered the role of James Bond in Casino Royale in 2006, but turned it down because of his desire to play Wolverine in the X-Men franchise.
Jackman played Wolverine in X-Men in 2000 before reprising the role in X-Men 2 in 2003, X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006, X-Men Origins in 2009: The Wolverine, The Wolverine in 2013, X-Men: Days Future Past in 2014 and Logan in 2017. In a new interview with Indiewire, Jackman revealed that he was offered the role of James Bond following the success of X-Men but the producers turned him down because he “didn’t want to do the same thing.”
He went on to say that he didn’t just want to play “a horror movie. It’s the meat and potatoes of most American movies, that archetype. They are all heroes in difficult situations. I was like, ‘Oh, no. This is a problem,” he continued.
Jackman went on to say that he “considered” playing Bond but decided against it. “I was like, ‘If I do this with Wolverine, I won’t have time to do anything else.’ I’ve really found that I enjoy making people who color outside the lines.”
The role of James Bond in Casino Royale of 2006 went to Daniel Craig in the end, but according to Henry Cavill, he was almost cast instead.
“Obviously they went with Daniel, I think it was an amazing choice to go with Daniel. Maybe I wasn’t ready at the time, I think Daniel has done an amazing job in the previous movies, so I’m glad they made that choice,” said Cavill. David Tenant revealed that he was also considered him for the job. Craig stepped down to the role of Bond when there is no time to die in 2021. Although a replacement has not been announced, producer Michael G. Wilson ruled out the possibility of a young 007, saying the actor would be in their 30s.
Hugh Jackman is set to reprise his role as Wolverine in Deadpool 3. The first Deadpool movie will be released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe on September 6, 2024.
