“X-Men” is back in the cultural zeitgeist thanks to Marvel Animation’s hit animated series “X-Men ’97,” and while it’s a different beast, it is paving the way for some of the first significant mutants to join the MCU this summer in “Deadpool & Wolverine.” We already know that star/producer Ryan Reynolds offered filmmaker Shawn Levy the “Deadpool 3” gig during the filming of “The Adam Project” (they also worked together on “Free Guy”). However, the director revealed that long before that, he had nearly helmed “The Wolverine” while working with Hugh Jackman circa 2010.
“When we were making ‘Real Steel,’ Hugh was looking to do ‘The Wolverine,’ and he asked me if I wanted to it,” Levy revealed to Empire Magazine this week about missing his chance to helm the “The Wolverine” movie, eventually released in 2013. “And like a moron, I said, ‘No.’ Because I was thinking at that time, ‘Well, it’s your fifth time playing the character, I’m doing original films, et cetera.’ And I regretted it deeply for years. And so when the opportunity came around again, thank God I was older and wiser enough to jump at the opportunity.”
Audiences might not remember the backstory of “The Wolverine,” but it was fraught with complications. Darren Aronofsky was initially set to helm the pic after working with Jackman on the drama “The Foundation,” and he had to exit over family issues (alongside the deadly Japanese tsunami delaying a planned location shoot). Filmmaker James Mangold (“Copland”) eventually landed the gig, delivering a pretty solid upgrade from the dreadful “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” though it too was filled with third-act problems that he also lamented.
Levy’s decision against Jackman’s offer arguably worked in the audience’s favor. It ultimately led to Mangold’s much-finer “Logan,” considered by many as one of the top-tier modern comic book movies, giving Wolverine an excellent swan song in the process.
Levy getting a second shot at directing a Wolverine-adjacent movie certainly has a happier ending, and it will be interesting to see if he sticks around for more Marvel Studios films, presuming “Deadpool & Wolverine” is successful enough when the R-rated sequel heads to theatres on July 26.