Keanu Reeves has been an A-list actor for more than two decades. And over that time, he’s had a number of iconic roles, whether it’s as Neo in “The Matrix,” Ted in ‘Bill & Ted,’ or the title character in “John Wick.” But according to a new interview with SiriusXM, there’s one role in particular that the actor is really bummed he never got a shot at playing.
“I always wanted to play Wolverine,” he said. “It’s too late… I’m all good with it now.”
When asked again if he really wanted to play the coveted role in an “X-Men” film, the actor replied, “Oh yeah. Frank Miller’s Wolverine? For sure!”
Obviously, there are probably a million actors that would have loved to have had a shot to play the character over the past 20 years. Unfortunately for them, Hugh Jackman quickly became the iconic Wolverine actor after his first appearance in Bryan Singer’s first “X-Men” film from 2000. And it wasn’t until 2018’s “Logan” that Jackman formally hung up the claws and left the character. So, that 18-year window that Keanu had to play the character was never really an option.
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Of course, as his ‘Bill & Ted’ co-star Alex Winter said in the interview, it’s never too late for Reeves to play the character. As Keanu Reeves has shown with the “John Wick” franchise, even with his 56th birthday fast approaching, the actor isn’t slowing down anytime soon with the action films. And honestly, if there was any superhero role that would actually benefit from having an older, grizzled veteran actor, it’s Wolverine.
Marvel Studios is clearly holding off on using the ‘X-Men’ characters anytime soon, as Disney’s purchase of Fox (and the rights to the Marvel characters) has only been in effect for a little over a year. So, by the time Marvel finally gets around to casting Wolverine for a future film, perhaps Reeves will have zero interest in the role. But in some sort of alternate universe, there exists a reality where Reeves suited up as Wolverine and was probably really fucking good.
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter return to the world of ‘Bill & Ted’ in their upcoming sequel, “Bill & Ted Face the Music,” which arrives in select theaters and PVOD on August 28.