Daniel Radcliffe Addresses Viral Wolverine Casting Comments (Exclusive)

By Russ Burlingame

Daniel Radcliffe as Wolverine is right up there with Jon Krasinski as Mister Fantastic in the pantheon of popular Marvel fancasting. The internet decided it should be a thing, and for years, reporters have asked Radcliffe about it, and every now and again he will give a glimmer of hope that he might actually be interested in stepping away from the high-concept indie films he has done almost exclusively since Harry Potter and rejoining the blockbuster world. Speaking with ComicBook.com in support of his upcoming film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, though, Radcliffe revealed those moments are less about being seriously interested, and more about boredom.

Turns out when you get asked the same question over and over again, and you give the same answer over and over again...eventually that's kind of a drag. Radcliffe told us that every time he jokes about pursuing the role, he almost immediately regrets it.

"With the Wolverine thing it's just something I mistakenly...I'll be honest, and [say] 'That's not a thing, and that's not happening,' and then every so often I'll be bored of answering like that and I'll be like 'ah, come and get me, Marvel!'" Radcliffe said. "And then I'll be like, 'That was a dumb thing to say. Why do I ever say that?' So and then it sort of resurfaces for a bit....I think that one's mostly gone away at the moment."

Of course, it's probably gone in part because Hugh Jackman is returning for Deadpool 3, which reduces the overall demand for a new Wolverine right at the moment. How much that will stay true once Jackman is done again remains to be seen.

You can see Radcliffe's comments (and a light spoiler for Weird, which we have hidden cleverly behind an ellipsis in the quote above), below.

Speaking with ComicBook.com at the SXSW premiere of The Lost City back in March, Radcliffe said that he appreciates fans want a "short guy" to play Wolverine in keeping with comics canon, but not only has he not been cast, but he doesn't see them choosing him after Jackman's time in the role.

"So many times, people come to me like, 'hey man, heard the Wolverine news, that's pretty cool.' No, I don't know anything about it. Like, I appreciate that somebody is clearly going like 'Wolverine's actually short in the comic books, you should get like a short guy to do it!'" Radcliffe said. "But I don't see myself, I don't see them going from Hugh Jackman to me. But who knows? Prove me wrong, Marvel."

Radcliffe has previously said that he doesn't think that he would play Wolverine despite fans floating his name for the role. Back in 2019, he explained that his love for the X-Men films actually makes it a bit less likely that he'd want to appear in a follow up.

The real question, of course, is why he would ever want a role like Wolverine when he's already got the perfect franchise-starter in the form of "Weird Al" Yankovic!

The Roku Channel's official description for the film reads: "Daniel Radcliffe is "Weird" Al Yankovic in the unexaggerated true story about the greatest musician of our time. From a conventional upbringing where playing the accordion was a sin, Al rebelled and made his dream of changing the words to world-renowned songs come true. An instant success and sex symbol, Al lives an excessive lifestyle and pursues an infamous romance that nearly destroys him. With Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, and an A-list cast of thousands their agents won't let us reveal."

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story begins streaming on The Roku Channel November 4th.

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