With the advent of Marvel superheroes in major films and franchises in the early 2000s, it was easy for a star to immortalize themselves as one of the characters from the pages of these comics. The best example of this has to be Hugh Jackman, who is still remembered as The Wolverine, the OG mutant of the iconic X-Men franchise.
For more than 17 years of his life, he dedicated himself to playing the character to perfection, which catalyzed the audience to remember his performance for the rest of their lives. But that perfect memory may have been tarnished if 2005′ Fantastic Four had incorporated his distasteful cameo in the film for comedic relief.
How Fantastic Four Almost Ruined Hugh Jackman’s Memory As Wolverine
While the later iteration of the X-Men films, titled The Dark Phoenix Saga, may have been a. step in the wrong direction, the earlier films were a success with the audience. But even when he made appearances in both of those versions, Hugh Jackman was able to make an impact on the audience with his performance as Wolverine.
But it had been for Fantastic Four, then more than his legendary run as the savage mutant, he may have been remembered as a laughing stock.
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During the scene in the 2005 film, which also featured Chris Evans as Human Torch, where Reed Richards asks Sue Storm about her relationship with Dr. Victor Von Doom, the moment she answers with “No me and Victor,” there was a shot where Ioan Gruffudd would turn towards the camera and say “I guess that’s what I thought you always wanted, a stronger man.”
Although it didn’t make it into the final cut, it was supposed to contain a shot where Richards’ face would almost transform into The Greatest Showman star’s iconic character of Wolverine.
This was only made possible because 20th Century Fox owned the rights to both franchises. However, on one hand, the original X-Men trilogy was a critical and commercial success, the Fantastic Four series was a jumbled mess that didn’t appease fans in the slightest. Therefore, if this scene had made its way into the final cut of the initial release, then fans may have flipped out at the company for making a mockery of such a beloved character and tarnishing Jackman’s legacy.
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Why Was Fantastic Four Disliked?
The film wasn’t all bad, but somehow, the audience felt that Fantastic Four had a lot of potential that went to waste because of the actors.
Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis played the roles of The Human Torch and The Thing with enough convincing performances, but Jessica Alba was unable to nail the execution of Sue Storm with her unconvincing portrayal of a scientist, not to mention Ioan Gruffudd’s chemistry with her was nowhere near the level that it should’ve been. In the end, it all culminated in feeling like the project was an afterthought for everyone who was a part of it.
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Fantastic Four, streaming on Disney+.
