Hugh Jackman, the incredibly talented Australian actor, who has been portraying one of the longest fictional characters ever portrayed on-screen, carrying the role for more than a decade, confirmed that the upcoming, third Wolverine movie would be his final performance as the legendary x-man. Of course, that doesn’t mean an end for Wolverine himself. When it comes time to pass the torch, the adamantium claws, I believe these actors would be more than capable of taking on the mantle of Marvel’s most badass mutants and I personally feel these actors hold more chances of becoming the next Wolverine! In this article, let’s take a look at the male actors who, I believe, could take on the role of this iconic character…
10) Michael Shannon
Besides being almost indestructible, Wolverine is a deeply traumatised character whose emotional scars run deep and who better to bring out the wounded and primal side of this animal more than General Zod himself? Not really known for playing upbeat and civil kinds of characters, Michael Shannon’s roles in Man of Steel and 99 Homes can show that he can pull off ruthless and rage-filled roles, which is ideal when your character needs to go berserk at a moment’s notice. However the real appeal comes from how well he captures pain and loss, something integral to Logan, just as much as his brutality.
9) Scott Eastwood
Scott Eastwood is better known as a supporting actor in large-scale features like ‘fury’, ‘gran torino’ and ‘suicide squad’. The son of legendary actor, Clint Eastwood, could provide a fresh-faced for
the character providing Logan with a more youthful look. We’ve seen hints that he can play a rather beaten and violent individual in smaller roles but given the chance, we think he could reinvigorate the aged X-Man. He’s young enough to play Wolverine at almost any point in his life so he could be brought in into any timeline with relative ease.
8) Michiel Huisman
He made us fall in love with Daario Naharis in “Game of Thrones”. So why not give a shot at him essaying the Wolverine? As Daario Naharis, he showed off that he’s very much at home. With effortless charm and kicking all kinds of ass which is what Wolverine does on a minute-to-minute basis we have no doubt that he could also bring some of the more sombre aspects of the character to life. But in all honesty, we just love to see him breaking some heads letting out snide remarks and more than likely betting one of his fellow X-Ladies before the day is done. Besides he’s already got the hair down.
7) Scott Adkins
The majority of this actor tends to lean towards the b-movie side of things. His most well-known role, being that of Russian fighter “Yuri Boyka” in the “Undisputed Franchise”. Why would we throw him in the ring for a chance to take on the Wolverine style? Because the man is an absolute beast! His fighting prowess and physique can’t be denied. You needn’t look any further than his fight scenes to show that he could easily bring out the Canadian death machine’s most violent side. Throw in a set of claws and I think Adkins would rack up quite the cinematic body count.
6) Charlie Hunnam
As Jackson in Sons of Anarchy, we were presented with a deeply flawed human being, who, despite his bad decisions and tendency to find himself on the wrong side of the law was willing to do anything for his family. In Pacific Rim, we were given a natural leader whose determination and charisma never fell out of place, despite the light-hearted feel at the movie. All-in-all Adam knows how to portray a broken character and knows how to have fun too. That’s the recipe for Wolverine if we ever heard one.
5) Karl Urban
He’s already breathe new life into one iconic badass, so why not another? Urban has already shown what his talent is, in cinematic masterpiece like The Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as reboots like star trek series. But we really have to throw light on his interpretation of ‘Dredd’, the role that finally gave the gritty futuristic judge the respect it deserved. The darkness of the character is stone-cold approach to killing and his ability to speak to the source material, Urban just keeps ticking the boxes of what would make a great Wolverine. In fact he’s one of the few that we think could actually pull off the characters.
4) Joel Edgerton
This actor has more than proved he’s a Hollywood heavyweight. With roles like ‘black mass’ and ‘The Gift’, reflecting that he can play a tormented soul working on the fringe of society. Fully encapsulating the lone wolf element of Wolverine, the role that really brings him to the forefront is that of ‘Colin’ in ‘Warrior’. He showed that he can not only bulk up to an obscene degree but also that even the nicest of guys can be a badass. It’s pretty much sure that if he is to slip into Logan’s shoes, then we would get a character just as likely to reflect on past pains as he is to snap a man into half.
3) Richard Armitage
You might know him for his towering performance as the short statured Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit trilogy. But what showed that he could easily channel the flawed hero archetype is his work on the small screen and that is where he really shines. He fluctuated between sinister and sympathetic as Guy of Gisborne and Robin Hood and was downright terrifying as Francis Dolarhyde in ‘Hannibal’. As far as portraying men with shattered like, he’s trying to contain their inner monsters, he has quite the extensive list of qualifications and we’d be more than happy for him to let Wolverine out of the cage.
2) Tom Hardy
This man has brought all roles he has ever portrayed to life and put his own stellar spin on each of these real-life and fictional icons and I feel that his take on the Wolverine would be no different. Look no further than the ‘Dark Knight Rises’ and ‘Warrior’ where he broke all kinds of bones. Of course he’s got the charm to match and seeing Tom Hardy with a pair of adamantium claws would be a pretty terrific epic!
1) Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman still is Wolverine. Might sound a let down? Well..it’s just that I’m not prepared to see my favourite actor from giving up the crown just yet. For over a decade, he’s been tearing bad guys apart and setting the trend for other superheroes to follow. He is one of the few people we have to thank for the current explosion of quality superhero films and it’s almost criminal to have to see him go right as the jar is beginning to peak, especially now that Deadpool has finally entered the arena.
Thus the claws aren’t meant to come in for one last time! We need them to hit out for more and entertain us as they have been doing for past decade. Perhaps someone from the list above mentioned, will still continue to fill the shoes of the legendary superhero! For, the claws are never meant to be down and will sprout out at any moment!