Top Wolverine Fancast Says He Talked to Marvel About Playing Another X-Man

An actor who was a highly popular fan cast for Marvel Studios' Wolverine revealed that he previously had discussions about possibly playing another X-Man. Casting for the MCU's upcoming X-Men movie is a hot topic for the franchise, as this will be Marvel Studios' first time getting to cast new actors for heroes who became legendary in their time with 20th Century Fox. As such, fans have offered ideas on who should play them for years, with one particular name standing out.

Golden Globe winner Taron Egerton revealed that he discussed playing Cyclops in a 20th Century Fox X-Men film. The news on Edgerton's meeting with Marvel first hit the news stream years ago, although fans believed he was possibly in contention to take over the role of Wolverine from longtime veteran Hugh Jackman. Interestingly, this match between actor and role was never more than a rumor.

Speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, Egerton clarified that Wolverine was never officially on the table for him. However, he remembered having "a Cyclops conversation years ago" when the rights to the X-Men were still under 20th Century Fox's watch:

"I honestly can't remember, it might have been Cyclops? Maybe, I don't know. It was a conversation around that years ago, back when it was a Fox thing, there was a Cyclops conversation years ago."

Along with actors like Daniel Radcliffe and Jeremy Allen White, Egerton is one of the fans' top choices for eventually replacing Jackman as Wolverine. 

For now, Jackman is expected to have at least one more round of action as James "Logan" Howlett in him after starring alongside Ryan Reynolds in 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine, which became the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history.

Meanwhile, Marvel Studios is in the early stages of developing its first X-Men movie, which will feature a new cast of stars as the mutants. Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier will take the same job for this new movie, and Hunger Games writer Michael Lesslie is penning the script. 

As of writing, the MCU's X-Men movie does not have a title, production schedule, or release date. Casting is expected to begin soon.

When Will Wolverine & Other X-Men Be Cast for MCU?

According to recent reports, the MCU's first X-Men movie may be as far as three years out, with a few other projects being regarded as higher priority for Marvel Studios. While legacy stars like Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen will get a proper MCU send-off in the Multiverse Saga, the new generation of mutants is not in Marvel Studios' immediate line of vision.

Additionally, reports have noted that Marvel is looking at younger names to play the MCU's mutants, likely so that they can "carry this franchise 10 to 12 years," as Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson joked in 2018's Deadpool 2. 

This means actors like Egerton (whose 36th birthday is in November 2025) are not likely to take on the younger core team members. These stars may not even be current household names, although being cast in the MCU would bring a massive change for anyone included.

The expectation is that the MCU's first X-Men movie will be one of the highlights of Phase 7, the first Phase of films and shows coming after the Multiverse Saga. Considering casting should begin in the next year or two, most of these actor are likely to be in their early-to-mid 20s age-wise, depending on the characters.

While Egerton may still be an option for another MCU role down the road, he almost certainly will not be part of the X-Men cast, which will be a hot topic of discussion until more updates are revealed.