“One of the main reasons was that he was too tall” — Marvel CEO reveals why Hugh Jackman was initially rejected as Wolverine

Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige opened up about why Logan star Hugh Jackman was initially rejected as Wolverine. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, published on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, the Marvel boss revealed that Jackman was initially rejected for the role as he was 6'3 and Wolverine stood considerably shorter at 5'3.

Feige told the publication—

"Lauren [Shuler Donner, Feige's boss,] was very excited about this Australian guy, who had been rejected initially. In my memory, one of the main reasons was that he was too tall."

Jackman is all set to reprise his role as the iconic superhero in the upcoming highly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine alongside Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool. The duo had previously portrayed both roles together in the critically panned 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

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Kevin Feige took Hugh Jackman to dinner after he was initially rejected as Wolverine

As the anticipation for Deadpool & Wolverine keeps building up to extreme levels, Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, and Kevin Feige sat down with Entertainment Weekly to recall the moments that led to the penultimate film. Jackman, who has now become synonymous with Wolverine, wasn't even supposed to play the character in the first place.

In 1999, Hugh Jackman was a producer's assistant on X-Men and flew to Toronto to audition for Wolverine but was rejected in favor of Dougray Scott. However, due to scheduling conflicts with Mission Impossible 2, Scott had to drop out. In a 2020 interview with The Telegraph, Scott revealed that Tom Cruise wouldn't let him leave the film to play Wolverine. The actor noted that the whole thing was out of his control.

Scott told The Telegraph:

"Tom Cruise didn’t let me do it. We were doing Mission Impossible and he was like, ‘you’ve got to stay and finish the film’, and I said I will, but I'll go and do that as well. For whatever reason he said I couldn’t. He was a very powerful guy. Other people were doing everything to make it work."

Kevin Feige told Entertainment Weekly that Scott's backing off led to a behind-the-scenes struggle to cast for the part. He told the outlet:

"There was a scramble to get our Wolverine."

As mentioned earlier, Feige noted that one of the reasons Hugh Jackman's audition was rejected was because he was too tall for the part. One of the more recognizable attributes of the comic book Wolverine apart from his yellow and blue gear is his height or a distinct lack of it. James Howlett, also known as Logan, only stood at 5 inches and 3 feet and Jackman was 6'3. Feige told EW:

"Wolverine in the comics is called 'Lil' Fireplugs' sometimes. He's a short guy. But they were desperate."

Initially, when he did not land the part, Feigie did not just drop Hugh Jackman off at the Toronto airport, instead, he took him out to dinner with the screenwriter. Feige told the publication that he didn't want to just send the actor out into the cold. Jackman recalled eating a steak dinner with the Marvel boss before being driven to the airport.

Jackman told EW:

"I'll never forget it. That was the nicest thing. I thought, I'll never see him again."

However, Hugh Jackman did end up seeing him again as he got the part and ended up bringing to life his very own version of the character in seven movies and made cameo appearances in two more. It seemed like Jackman had retired from the role for good in 2017's Logan before Deadpool and Ryan Reynolds came calling for a collaboration.

Kevin Feige told EW:

"The notion that, all these years later, we're in a world where [Jackman] is Wolverine, and Deadpool and all of those X-Men characters are together under the same roof, is a pretty amazing quarter-of-a-century experience."

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The highly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine is all set to hit theaters on Friday, July 26, 2024, as part of phase five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).