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With Daniel Craig moving forward from the iconic role of James Bond after playing it for over a decade, the search for the next 007 has begun. But it appears that even before Craig was bestowed with the iconic role, Hugh Jackman was the initial choice to carry the mantle after Pierce Brosnan, but theX-Men: Days of Future Pastactor rejected the offer.
But it appears that Jackman had multiple reasons for not accepting the offer to star in aJames Bondflick and carry its decade-old legacy forward. And the actor didn’t want to play a certain character for the rest of his life and wanted to create a more diverse filmography under his belt.
Also read:“Paying for the baguette(s) and butter”: Hugh Jackman Hard at Work To Prove His Hyper Vascular Wolverine Body isn’t Made of Steroids, Shares Brutal Deadpool 3 Workout
Hugh Jackman didn’t want to get stuck with a single role
While speaking with Variety,Hugh Jackmanwent on to express his fear of getting typecast, and accepting the offer of playing James Bond would have lowered his chances of getting different roles in the future. Jackman explained that after playing Wolverine in theX-Menmovies, it was getting difficult for him to get distinct roles, and was feeling stuck, and playing Bond would have only made it worse. He stated,
“I always tried to do different things, but there was a time between ‘X-Men 3’ and the first Wolverine movie when I could see the roles getting smaller. People wanted me to play that kind of hero part exclusively. It felt a little bit claustrophobic.”
But apart from his fear of not being able to get diverse roles in his career, Jackman also revealed that he had no say on the creative side of the project, which was another reason that made him decline the offer.
Also read:“I was okay with burning bridges”: Ant-Man 3 Star Evangeline Lilly Doesn’t Regret Turning Down Joss Whedon for Wonder Woman Movie After Refusing to Join Hugh Jackman in X-Men Franchise
Hugh Jackman didn’t have any say in theJames Bondproject he was offered
Another factor that made theLoganactor miss the opportunity of banking a huge amount by playing the role was the story of the movie. Jackman expressed that he found the script for theJames Bondmovie too crazy and unbelievable and urged them to make it more real and grittier. But after his request was declined,The Wolverineactor didn’t think twice before declining the iconic role. He stated,
“I felt like they needed to become grittier and real. And the response was, ‘Oh, you don’t get a say. You just have to sign on.’ I was also worried that between Bond and X-Men, I’d never have time to do different things.”
Also read:“6 of us went to the opera. 1 of us fell asleep”: Hugh Jackman Roasts Deadpool 3 Co-Star Ryan Reynolds for Not Being a Man of Culture
But despite his decision to leave the role, which made Daniel Craig around $82.4 million throughout his tenure as 007, theLoganactor doesn’t regret his decision. As Jackman went on to do many diverse projects, includingThe Prestige, Les Misérables,andThe Greatest Showman,and is set to reprise the role of Wolverine in the upcomingDeadpoolthreequel.
Deadpool 3 is set to hit theatres on June 12, 2025.
Source:Variety
Santanu Roy
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2539
Santanu Roy is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 2,000 articles under his belt. He has been pursuing a degree in Animation and possesses a deep love for the medium of animation. Having spent the better part of the last two years pumping out articles for FW, Santanu excels at covering movie analysis and news surrounding Pixar, DCU, DreamWorks, and Batman’s cinematic legacy.With psychological thrillers and intimate slice-of-life dramas ranking among his favorite genres, Santanu is a big admirer of Luca Guadagnino, Shane Black, Park Chan-wook, and Brad Bird.
