Against all odds, Hugh Jackman is the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s Wolverine. Over 20 years after landing the role for the original X-Men movie, Ryan Reynolds got the team-up he always wanted in Deadpool & Wolverine. While many expected the movie to act as a swan song for Jackman’s mutant, it turned out to be the exact opposite, setting up a future for the character that could include appearances in Avengers movies and so much more. It’s not realistic to pencil Jackman in for every upcoming MCU movie, though, especially since a major X-Men reboot is on the way from Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier.
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When Charles Xavier’s students enter the Blackbird for the first time in the MCU, there’s likely going to be a new version of Wolverine with them. While it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Jackman pulling out the claws, it’s time to prepare for the inevitable. Here are 5 actors who would be perfect as Wolverine in the MCU’s X-Men.
5) Daniel Radcliffe
Since 2011, Daniel Radcliffe has been working hard to eliminate the Harry Potter stigma that surrounds his work, appearing in quirky comedies like Weird: The Al Yankovic Story and horror thrillers like The Woman in Black. However, he has yet to return to a major franchise, opting instead to sign on for roles that only require him to show up on set for one or two projects. Well, the MCU isn’t going anywhere, so it might be time for Radcliffe to board the superhero train.
The leg-up Radcliffe has on the competition when it comes to landing the Wolverine role is that he’s 5 feet 5 inches tall, which is close to the character’s height in the comics. Jackman towered over his castmates for 20 years, so the reboot is a chance to tell Wolverine that he can’t have it all.
4) Taron Egerton
The Wolverine questions have been coming Taron Egerton’s way for years, and it’s hard to blame anyone for asking them. The Welsh actor is one of Hollywood’s most underrated stars, doing music legend Elton John justice in Rocketman and proving his action skills in the thriller Carry-On and the Kingsman franchise. The MCU has somehow not found a role for Egerton yet, but the powers that be may have been waiting for a particular mutant role to become available.
Egerton would be able to go toe-to-toe with any other actors that Schreier and Co. cast in the X-Men reboot. He also knows how to play it cool, so there would be no concern about him stealing the spotlight from other people, as Jackman always did in Fox’s movies.
3) Glen Powell
No one is having a better run than Glen Powell. After starring in Top Gun: Maverick, it feels like the actor has another project drop every other week. In 2025 alone, he will star in Edgar Wright’s The Running Man and the Hulu series Chad Powers, based on a character created by former NFL quarterback Eli Manning for a skit in his ESPN series.
The next logical step for Powell is to find a superhero role. While many believe he would be a great fit for Cyclops, he has the potential to be an even better Wolverine. In Hit Man, Powell plays the unhinged Gary Johnson, who has a thing for killing people. If that doesn’t scream Wolverine, nothing does.
2) Henry Cavill
Even while he was playing Superman for DC, Henry Cavill had to hear all about fans wanting him to play Wolverine. The public pressure got to him because he agreed to tackle the role for Deadpool & Wolverine, appearing as the “Cavillrine” for a brief moment during a montage. Cavill may end up in the same boat as John Krasinski, who played Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to appease fans, but the door shouldn’t be closed on him.
In just one scene, Cavill proved that he could embody everything that makes Wolverine great. Superhero roles probably don’t have the allure they used to for Cavill, but Marvel Studios isn’t going to treat Wolverine as poorly as DC did the Man of Steel.
1) Josh Segarra
To ensure that other characters get a chance to shine, the MCU could cast a smaller name as Wolverine. If that’s the avenue the powers that be choose, they should look no further than Josh Segarra, whose claim to fame is playing Green Arrow villain Prometheus in The CW series Arrow.
The Arrowverse allowed Segarra to tap into his dark side as his character tormented Oliver Queen for the role the hero played in killing his father. The MCU could put those skills to use by giving Segarra a set of claws and unleashing him on all the villains who want to do mutants harm in the MCU.
Which of these actors would you most like to see play Wolverine in the MCU? Is there anyone else you want to see in the role? Let us know in the comments below!
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Image courtesy of Starz
