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 the X-Men: Days of Future Past actor rejected the offer.
But it appears that Jackman had multiple reasons for not accepting the offer to star in a James Bond flick 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.
Hugh Jackman didn’t want to get stuck with a single role
While speaking with Variety, Hugh Jackman went 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 the X-Men movies, 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.
Hugh Jackman didn’t have any say in the James Bond project he was offered
Another factor that made the Logan actor 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 the James Bond movie too crazy and unbelievable and urged them to make it more real and grittier. But after his request was declined, The Wolverine actor 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.”
But despite his decision to leave the role, which made Daniel Craig around $82.4 million throughout his tenure as 007, the Logan actor doesn’t regret his decision. As Jackman went on to do many diverse projects, including The Prestige, Les Misérables, and The Greatest Showman, and is set to reprise the role of Wolverine in the upcoming Deadpool threequel.
Deadpool 3 is set to hit theatres on November 08, 2024.
Source: Variety
