The Canceled X-Men Movie That Would've Finally Made Wolverine Wear Yellow Spandex

The Wolverine character first graced the pages of Marvel Comics in 1974, debuting in "The Incredible Hulk #180." However, the clawed hero's true debut came in the following issue, when he teamed up with the temperamental green giant to take on Wendigo. Since then, Wolverine and his X-Men cohorts have been popular mainstays in the comics and various spin-off media, but Hugh Jackman's famous portrayal of Wolverine is a departure from the character who helped Hulk in 1974.

Prior to the release of the live-action "X-Men" movie in 2000, Wolverine was primarily known for sporting yellow spandex in the comics and animated television series. That said, the film franchise replaced the mutant's trademark outfit with different attires, ranging from black leather outfits to understated white vests that showed off Jackman's bulging biceps.

While Jackman's Wolverine has received plenty of praise from fans of the "X-Men" movies, some hardcore purists have longed to see him don the character's yellow costume at least once. Unfortunately, that never came to fruition during the height of Jackman's Wolverine run, but it would have if one canceled "X-Men" movie ever saw the light of day.

Following "X-Men: Apocalypse," Byron Burton, who worked as composer John Ottman's assistant on the film, wrote a spec script for a Beast solo movie called "X-Men: Fear the Beast." While it wasn't set to be a Wolverine-centric adventure, the film would have boasted one of the most fan-pleasing iterations of the character to date.

"X-Men: Fear the Beast" would have taken place in the 1980s and revolved around Nicholas Hoult's Hank McCoy and his titular mutant alter ego going up against Mr. Sinister. The idea was to have the movie launch a series of standalone "X-Men" character films that would have seen Sinister throw obstacles at the heroes one by one. Sadly, the project was scrapped as Simon Kinberg had other plans for the franchise with his "Dark Phoenix" film.

The opening scene of "Fear the Beast" would have featured a cameo from Wolverine (intended to be played by Hugh Jackman) in the long-desired yellow costume and mask. The scene in question involved Wolverine interrupting a fight between Beast and Wendigo in an Innuit village, rocking his attire and pulling his mask over his face. Unfortunately, fans will never get to see it, but was that the best decision in the end?

The "X-Men" movies present Wolverine as the least vain character of the group, so giving him a costume that screams colorful individualism probably wouldn't have suited his personality. However, James Mangold considered including the old-school yellow costume in "The Wolverine" before rejecting the idea.

A scene in which the clawed hero lays eyes on the yellow attire was included as a deleted scene in the special features for "The Wolverine's" DVD release. According to Mangold, they chose to omit it from the actual movie as it didn't make sense due to Wolverine's non-narcissistic personality. "We never even made a version of the outfit. Everything about his character as I understand it, would keep him from donning a self-promoting "uniform," Mangold tweeted in 2020.

It remains to be seen if the Wolverine actor will ever wear the suit fans want to see him in. However, Jackman is set to reprise the role in "Deadpool 3," so anything is possible.