Summary

• MCU is gearing up to introduce a new Wolverine, and fans are speculating on who could fill the iconic role.
• Hugh Jackman's 24-year tenure as Wolverine set a high bar, making it a tough act to follow for the new actor.
• Choices like Jared Keeso, Antony Starr, and other actors are being considered to bring their own twist to the beloved hero.

It's only a matter of time before the MCU gets its own version of the adamantium-clawed turned X-Men into a 13-movie franchise.

However, as iconic as Hugh Jackman is as Wolverine, there were initial doubts about him in the role. The Australian actor was largely an unknown, and his tall, handsome look stood in stark contrast to the short, burly Wolverine of Marvel Comics. Any doubts were sternly proven wrong, and Jackman's 24-year tenure in the role (continuing in 2024 with Deadpool and Wolverine). Now, the pressure is on for a new Wolverine to step out of Jackman's shadow and put their own twist on the famous hero.

20 Jared Keeso

Best Known For Letterkenny (2016-2023)

There are a number of fans who would like to see this new version of Wolverine embrace his Canadian roots. As such, having a Canadian actor take on the role would be a big thrill and Jared Keeso seems to be a great choice. Kesso has the look and the talent to pull it off.

Keeso is the creator and star of the hit Canadian comedy series Letterkenny and its recent spinoff Shoresy. He is terrific at playing the gruff tough guy with a hard exterior while also having the ability to bring some humor to the role.While Wolverine is often a serious character, he's also not above a quick joker or moment of levity.

19 Antony Starr

Best Known For The Boys (2019-Present)

Some fans would also like to see another Australian actor follow in Hugh Jackman's footsteps for the role of Wolverine. Antony Starr is becoming one of the fan-favorite television actors with his villainous role as Homelander on The Boys. While he has shown he can play a truly evil superhero, it is not hard to see him pulling off a more heroic role like Wolverine.

Starr's previous series, Banshee, showed how well he can play those anti-heroes. One way the MCU could differentiate its Wolverine is by leaning more toward this side of Logan. While Wolverine is undeniably a hero, he sometimes finds himself at odds with other X-Men due to his penchant for extreme violence.

18 Zahn McClarnon

Best Known For Longmire (2012-2017)

One idea that has come up with the new version of Wolverine is reimagining the character as an Indigenous Canadian. It could be a fascinating way to make the character feel new and explore his backstory in some interesting ways. Zahn McClarnon has already appeared in the MCU with a small role as Echo's father in Hawkeye. But with Marvel showing a willingness to cast actors more than once, he would be a great fit for Wolverine.

He is the kind of actor who can bring so much presence with very few words. McClarnon's trimmer physique doesn't match Wolverine's traditional look, but that hasn't proven to be a problem in the past. Jackman was relatively slim in X-Men and subsequently bulked up significantly for future appearances.

17 Logan Marshall-Green

Best Known For Upgrade (2018)

Logan Marshall-Green is an actor who always seems as though he is one role away from becoming a big star but has yet to find that perfect breakout part. He has appeared as the lead in intense horror thrillers like Upgrade and The Invitation as well as ing roles in blockbusters, including a brief role as the first Shocker in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Marshall-Green has a gruff but charming quality about him that could work quite well for Wolverine. He would also fit into an ensemble effectively if the MCU decides to keep Wolverine as part of a team rather than in the spotlight. There's also little doubt that he has the physicality and look to pull off a perfect Logan.

16 Walton Goggins

Best Known For Justified (2010-2015)

Walton Goggins has also appeared in the MCU already but was criminally underused as the villain Sonny Burch in Ant-Man and the Wasp. But he has just the right wild man persona that could work great for Wolverine. He has played the charming yet dangerous character in Justified and has shown off his comedic abilities in projects like The Righteous Gemstones.

Goggins even has the hair and the stature that a lot of Wolverine fans would be hoping for in an actor. The biggest drawback is, of course, whether he could put on suitable bulk to become a convincing mutant bruiser. While some heroes can get away with differing body types, Wolverine needs to look intimidatingly strong.

15 Daniel Radcliffe

Bets Know For The Harry Potter Series (2001-2011)

Daniel Radcliffe has been a popular fan casting for Wolverine, and his grizzled performance in the little-seen survival thriller Jungle, paired with the unbridled rage he displayed in the more recent Guns Akimbo, proves he’d probably nail the role. Radcliffe is an actor who is inseparable from his iconic character Harry Potter. But for him to take on another icon role like Wolverine could allow fans to see another side of Radcliffe and allow him to take on more diverse projects.

Radcliffe has proven successful with a wide range of smaller, unique projects since Harry Potter, but he may be interested in another franchise soon. Moreover, he may be drawn to one so markedly different than his first iconic role. Moreover, Radcliffe's general build - particularly when he's bulked up a bit - is much closer to comics Wolverine than Jackman ever was.

14 Brad Pitt

Best Known For Fight Club (1999)

When Deadpool 2 was in pre-production, Brad Pitt was under consideration for the role of Cable. He ended up playing the Vanisher instead, in a two-second cameo appearance, but he could instead play a different grizzled, ass-kicking X-Man. Marvel Studios may want at least one or two of their X-Men to have A-List star power, and Pitt certainly has it.

Pitt’s Oscar-winning turn in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood proved he could show a range of emotions through a cool-as-ice, hard-as-nails, lethal badass. If Logan’s success has Marvel searching for an older Wolverine, Pitt could be a solid pick. Despite the actor's history with action-heavy roles, he's yet to predominantly start in a Marvel or DC project.

13 Ben Affleck

Best Known For The Town (2010)

An outside-the-box choice might be Ben Affleck. There’s little chance that Affleck will take another comic book role so soon after what seems to have been a tumultuous time as the DCEU's Batman. But Affleck’s darker performances in films like Gone Girl and The Town prove that he could definitely play a great Wolverine.

The best thing about Batfleck was his rage, either shown physically in his brutal aggression as the Bat or simmering silently in quieter scenes as Bruce Wayne. That conflict is transferrable to the role of Wolverine. Moreover, building a relationship with Affleck could lead to the acclaimed director taking an MCU role behind the camera as well as in front of it.

Affleck already played the titular Marvel hero in Daredevil (2003), though the film's poor reception meant it was a one-time part.

12 Justin Theroux

Best Known For The Leftovers (2014-2017)

A large part of playing Wolverine is in depicting the character’s inner turmoil. This can be tricky to pull off, as it requires an actor to be well-versed in non-verbal communication. Fortunately, Theroux has shown this ability in spades.

However, as shown in his performances in HBO’s short-lived, underrated gem The Leftovers and David Lynch’s surreal films Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire, Justin Theroux is terrific at this kind of acting. It's easy to imagine Theroux's version of Logan getting a more introspective look at his past with more tangible answers than what was given in the Fox movie franchise.

11 Joel Edgerton

Best Known For The Gift (2017)

Over the past few years, Joel Edgerton has emerged as one of the finest contemporary actors. All he needs to do is grow out his beard to have the Wolverine look. Edgerton is equally proven in smaller dramas and action-heavy projects, both of which are likely essential for the X-Men.

Moreover, his engrossing performances in recent gems like It Comes at Night, The Gift, Warrior, Loving, and Black Mass have proved that he can convey the wide range of grizzled emotions required to play Wolverine. Logan may be a bruiser, but his character arc and inner turmoil are complex. Edgerton is among the best actors around at portraying this specific blend of character traits with subtlety.