Warning! This article contains spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine.

Summary

• Tyler Mane reprised his role as Sabretooth in Deadpool & Wolverine, despite Liev Schreiber's more popular portrayal.
• The decision could have been made to use Mane to align with actors from the original Fox X-Men movies.
• Potential reasons for Schreiber's absence include budget constraints or Marvel's focus on maintaining connections to the original X-Men films.

MCU's only movie in 2024.

Wolverine's nemesis in Marvel Comics and other forms of media is Sabretooth. With Jackman coming back for Deadpool & Wolverine and the movie possibly being the final superhero entry for the star, Sabretooth needed to be present. Marvel knew this, bringing back Tyler Mane as Victor Creed and having him fight Jackman's Wolverine. However, despite having appeared in the ill-received X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Liev Schreiber's version of Sabretooth is the most popular one, which generated confusion over Deadpool & Wolverine's plot fitting in Mane as the villain instead of Schreiber.

Tyler Mane Played Sabretooth In The First X-Men Movie

Deadpool & Wolverine Had A Clear Focus For X-Men Cameos

Mane was the first actor to give life to Sabretooth in live-action. Before returning in Deadpool & Wolverine, the actor made his only appearance as Victor Creed in 2000's X-Men, the first movie for the mutant team. Mane's Sabretooth was part of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants, serving Ian McKellen's X-Men villain in different missions throughout the movie. Sabretooth first fought Jackman's Wolverine when Magneto sent him to kidnap Rogue. As Wolverine was traveling with her, the two quickly got into a fight. At the end of the movie, Cyclops knocks out Sabretooth with a powerful optic blast.

Despite not being the most popular version of Sabretooth in live-action, it made sense that Mane was the one to play the character in Deadpool & Wolverine. The reason for that is the MCU movie chose to bring back several actors and characters from the original Fox X-Men movie timeline, likely since those were the characters who interacted with Jackman's Wolverine early on. As Schreiber's Victor Creed came from the spin-off film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he would have felt out of place among the original Fox X-Men returning stars.

Why Liev Schreiber Didn't Return As Sabretooth

A Previous Comment Could Explain It

A reason why Schreiber's Sabretooth was not used in Deadpool & Wolverine has yet to be revealed. In 2023, Schreiber told GQ that he was not asked to reprise his role in Logan, saying he "would have loved to bring Victor back, anytime anywhere." Based on him being open to returning as Sabretooth, it seems like Marvel might not have called the actor to reprise his role, just like in Logan. The reason for that could be the desire to focus on actors from the original X-Men movies or Schreiber's pay hitting Deadpool & Wolverine's budget harder than Mane's.