When Hugh Jackman is not singing and dancing during a Broadway stage production, he is often found making a successful career out of his acting skills in Hollywood. However, although the actor is famously known for his superhero role in Marvel’s X-Men movies, Jackman once nearly jeopardized his career with the 2015 fantasy film Pan.
Hugh Jackman, who dedicated himself to Marvel for a decade, demanded $20M for his Wolverine role. However, the actor almost destroyed his opportunity to demand that eye-watering amount for his infamous role, after his 2015 movie made Warner Bros lose nearly $100M, due to controversial casting.
Hugh Jackman’s Pan Was A Controversial Disaster
Amid Hugh Jackman’s successful career out of his heroic roles in Van Helsing, Les Miserables, and his infamous The Wolverine, the actor once dipped his hands in the villainous role of Blackbeard in Pan. Playing the character of a nasty and narcissistic pirate with flair, Jackman mesmerized his audience when the movie hit the theatres.
However, interestingly Warner Bros. failed to kick off a new fantasy franchise, with Joe Wright’s Pan. Despite the star-studded cast led by Hugh Jackman, Rooney Mara, and Amanda Seyfried, the pricey epic remained earthbound, making an anemic $15.3M during the opening weekend. It was later handed a lowly 25% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Apparently, criticism and controversy plagued the release of Pan causing dust to settle in its box office collections. Debates started on Twitter surrounding the controversial casting of Rooney Mara as the Native American, Tiger Lily. Even petitions were signed urging Warner Bros. studios to stop whitewashing the roles that were meant for people of color.
Also read: 16 Actors Who Regret Their Controversial Castings
Warner Bros’ $100M Loss Affected Hugh Jackman’s Career
After being produced with $150M and an estimated marketing cost of $200M, the controversy-laden release of Pan had a fatal effect on its box office collection. However, apart from the issue of whitewashing roles, the 2015 movie was also deemed overly formulaic and a wild deviation from J.M. Barrie’s children’s classic to succeed.
Thus, the disastrous movie stood alongside other costly failures like Jupiter Ascending and Tomorrowland, while making Warner Bros lose nearly $100M. Well, it wasn’t just the studios that lost tens of millions on the highly anticipated movie, but also Hugh Jackman who nearly killed his staggering career with Pan.
Jackman and Garrett Hedlund who were on board with Joe Wright to direct the 2015 movie featuring Rooney Mara as a Native American, faced equal backlash similar to Warner Bros. The MCU actor, who later demanded $20M for his role as Wolverine, almost lost his opportunity to seek that eye-watering amount following his controversial association with the 2015 movie.
Download or rent Pan on Amazon Prime.
Source: The Washington Post, Variety
