Wolverine is arguably the most iconic of the X-Men, and largely has a very uniform identity which has been helped by Hugh Jackman’s iconic portrayal of the character in various live-action adaptations. The mutant himself, however, has been an integral part of the comics since forever, and was already extremely popular via the various animated iterations that came out, since the 1980s.
The short-tempered yet good-hearted, violence-loving savage has always belonged to Canada, although one particular iteration ended up changing that part of his identity. We speak of 1989’s X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men pilot, which was written by Larry Parr, a Marvel writer who had been working with Marvel Productions and Stan Lee since 1981.
As it turned out, Parr worked on the pilot which was later cancelled alongside the likes of Will Meugniot, and Rick Hoberg, all X-Men fanboys. The group however, ended up accepting one of the executives’ suggestion, that to make Wolverine ‘Australian,’ They reluctantly agreed to it, but later learned their lesson.
This was how Wolverine became Australian in X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men pilot
A still from X-Men: The Animated Series. | Marvel
While the pilot itself did not get greenlit for a show, this simple fact means that most fans will be thankful for the same. An Australian Wolverine, let alone any Wolverine other than the original one who hails from Canada is the Wolverine fans know and love, and such a drastic, and needless change would not have been met well, regardless of the show’s other aspects.
The suggestion itself came from an executive, and was initially met with disdain by Larry Parr and the other X-Men fanboys in the team, including executive producer Margaret Loesch. (Marvel)
The people who were banking [Pryde of the X-Men]— Crocodile Dundee was popular at the time. And so one of the executives asked us, “Hey, what about making Wolverine Australian?” And we were going, “Oh, God. No.” But we figured, “OK.” Lesson learned.
The pilot was aired on the Marvel Action Universe Television Block and was initially telecast in 1989. However, a less-than-satisfying response to it meant that the show never became a reality.
And of course, while Larry Parr was horrified at the suggestion initially, he did end up accepting it. That in itself, might irk fans, who are currently waiting on Hugh Jackman and Deadpool & Wolverine.
Marvel has shown an inclination to stick to Wolverine’s roots
When it comes to iconic franchises such as X-Men, staying true to the source material is not only what fans want, but it also makes perfect sense because of the history and the lore associated with these entities. Wolverine is the most iconic mutant to have existed across the franchise and is one of several X-Men characters who must be depicted as accurately as possible when compared to the comics.
Furthermore, when it comes to Wolverine, the fact that Hugh Jackman has done such an iconic job over the years means that the character has transcended the comics, and has rightfully entered the mainstream. The kind of praise and acclaim Jackman has been able to garner is not because of the kind of originality that he brought to the role, even though it did add to it.
Rather, Jackman’s Wolverine is arguably the most accurate casting decision that has been made in the overall superhero live-action narrative thus far. Marvel, thankfully seems to have finally hit the nerve, and realized exactly what fans look for when it comes to franchises such as X-Men.
Staying true to the source material, in addition to bringing back Jackman as the iconic character in itself was always a sure-shot way to succeed. That has already been proved with respect to Season 1 of X-Men ‘97, and barring a disaster, will also be proven by the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine.
