The future looks like it is going to be anything but boring for Marvel Studios and the MCU. Ever since Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the Marvel toybox expanded ten-fold. Coming with the Fox purchase were all the heroes that the studio owned the film and TV rights to. This list included Wolverine, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four.
Fans have gotten their first tease of these characters coming to the MCU thanks to Patrick Stewart's inclusion in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the announcement of Jon Watts' Fantastic Four film. However, many are still wondering when a true MCU X-Men movie will be on the way, and more importantly, who will play this version of the mutant team.
One name that has come up plenty is Daniel Radcliffe as the adamantium-infused Wolverine. The Harry Potter actor has played into these rumors recently, having fun with reporters when asked about it, but this has only led to even more rampant speculation.
So, Radcliffe has finally decided to clear the air regarding the fan casting.
Radcliffe Clears the Air
In an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Daniel Radcliffe addressed speculation surrounding him taking on the role of Wolverine in the MCU.
The actor said "That’s not true. There’s nothing behind that," but joked that in saying that "everyone’s like, ‘Oh, he said it might be true:’"
"This is something that has, like, come up every so often for the last few years. And every time it comes up, I’m like, 'That’s not true. There’s nothing behind that.’ And everyone’s like, ‘Oh, he said it might be true.’ And I’m like, ‘No, I didn’t. I said the opposite of that.’"
Radcliffe went on saying that this has started to happen so often that sometimes he'll "get bored answering questions in a sensible way" and instead "make a joke." However, every time he does this he instantly regrets it asking himself, "Why did you do that?:"
“And then, like, every so often, I’ll get bored answering questions in a sensible way so I’ll make a joke, and every time I make a joke, I’m like, ‘Why did you do that? That’s gonna set--’ So the other day I was like, ‘prove me wrong, Marvel.’ And then that has ignited a whole thing."
He speculated that the reason this keeps coming up though is likely his height, as "Wolverine in the comics is fairly short," so he sees a lot of people "going like, ’Who’s a short actor? Him. He can maybe play him:’”
"But yeah, I think it’s ’cause there--like, Woverine in the comics is fairly short, so I think it’s people going like, ’Who’s a short actor? Him. He can maybe play him.’”
Radcliffe said that he will take this comparison though, as "anything that implies the fleetingest similarity to Hugh Jackman is incredibly flattering:"
"I mean anything that implies the fleetingest similarity to Hugh Jackman is incredibly flattering. So I am happy with that.”
See the full interview below:
From Magic to Mutant
Surely, this settles it then! Daniel Radcliffe is not playing Wolverine in whatever live-action X-Men projects that Marvel Studios has lined up. Or does it?
If Radcliffe is in fact lying through his teeth here, knowing full well he is taking on Marvel's most iconic mutant, it would not be the first time someone has done that with one of these characters.
Just look at how Andrew Garfield spent the latter half of 2021 during the lead-up to Spider-Man: No Way Home. The actor went from full-on denying he was in the movie to joking about his involvement in the project. And no matter what he did, the rumors kept swirling, and he ultimately ended up in the movie.
That could very well be the same case here. In the ever-connected fandom that is the MCU in 2022, usually, where there is smoke, there is fire. With other rumors though, (à la Patrick Stewart in MoM), there are large leaks of information leading to the rumors getting started. There has not been that - at least yet - in relation to Radcliffe potentially suiting up as Wolverine.
So the question still remains. Is the actor just playing coy? Or is he in fact telling the truth in saying he is not involved with the character at this time?
