With the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the verge of rebooting the X-Men film series, fan speculation regarding casting has run rampant, and among the most popular candidates has been Daniel Radcliffe as Wolverine. The gruff hero has famously been played by Hugh Jackman since 2000’s X-Men.

Though he initially retired from the role in 2017, the Song Sung Blue star returned for 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. Likewise, many of his X-Men costars are slated to reprise their parts for Avengers: Doomsday.

Despite this, the long-term plan is still to recast the superhero team for a new generation after Doomsday and its follow-up, Avengers: Secret Wars. As a result, Radcliffe found himself confronted with the casting rumors in a recent interview with ComicBook.

Though “it was a very flattering internet rumor,” the star said “it was not ever real.“ He continued: “It was never suggested in any kind of way by anybody with any power to make that happen. And, honestly, you would be stupid not to consider something like that.”

Moreover, there is one major thing holding Radcliffe back from playing Wolverine: Jackman. “If they do other Wolverines, being the person who follows Hugh Jackman is not on my bucket list for anything,” he explained. “For any role of his, particularly the role he has made the most iconic of his career, I am happy not to be doing that and let him keeping doing it.“

Previously, Radcliffe opened up to Screen Rant about the possibility of joining either the MCU or its rival, the DC Universe, in a superhero role. Again, Radcliffe denied any express interest in the franchise, but also made it clear he was open to changing his mind.

“You know, my dimensions mean I’m a natural fit for Spider-Man,” the Harry Potter alum quipped. “I think that boat has sailed unless they’re doing, like, Spider-Geriatric-Man one day and I can do that.” Clarifying, Radcliffe stated: “I mean, look, of course, I’d be open to anything if the script was […] cool and weird and different, but there’s very much never been any truth to any of it.“

He then revealed that Wolverine has always been the “classic” role he is questioned about. Radcliffe continued: “I still get people coming up to me and being like, ‘Is that going to happen though?’ I’m like, ‘Dude no.’” Despite the interest from fans, he reiterated that there have never been any official plans for him to join the MCU.

While the door seemed closed for Radcliffe to pursue Wolverine or another superhero part, the actor was careful not to lock it. He concluded: “I would never rule anything like that out, but, also, I am not necessarily clamoring to be in it or seeking that. I am lucky that I can judge any job on the quality of the script.”

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  Created by

  Kevin Feige

  First Film

  Iron Man

  Upcoming Films

  Blade, Avengers: Doomsday (2026), Avengers: Secret Wars

  First TV Show

  Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

  Upcoming TV Shows

  Marvel Zombies, Wonder Man, Vision Quest

  Cast

  Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Simu Liu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, Ma Dong-seok, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Jonathan Majors

  The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.