Will Taron Egerton Be The MCU's Wolverine?

Let the X-Men/Marvel Cinematic Universe rumor slinging commence.

Our friends at We Got This Covered have previously reported that, according to undisclosed sources, Kingsman and Rocketman star Taron Egerton is high on Marvel's wish list to take over the role of Wolverine — and the star himself has recently weighed in on the rumor.

Before we dive into just how exactly the chatter started, let's examine the comments of Egerton, who is riding high on the critical and box office success of the Elton John biopic Rocketman, in which the actor channeled the legendary musician to jaw-dropping effect, even singing all of the songs in the flick himself. While it seems that he wouldn't necessarily be keen to cast himself if the choice were his, he signaled that he'd still be game to take on the role — or, failing that, any role that Marvel Studios would consider him for.

Asked if there was any substance to the talk about his playing the iconic hero, Egerton said, "That one I think is just a rumor. As far as I'm aware, it's unfounded. I don't know if I'm quite grisly enough. I mean, if the people at Marvel think I am, then great, let's go. But I think there are probably better candidates. But I would love to be involved with that world somewhere."

Well, we've never heard the word "grisly" used to describe a living person before, but we're not going to split hairs. If you ask us, Egerton — who has proven his action bonafides as Gary "Eggsy" Unwin in the Kingsman series — would be an excellent choice for the part, and we're not the only ones who think so. In fact, one of the star's champions has even more of an informed opinion on the matter than we do.

In 2016, Hugh Jackman — who famously inhabited the role of the clawed Canadian for 17 years — was asked whether he'd be game to appear in a Deadpool film while doing the press rounds for Eddie the Eagle with Egerton, who co-starred with him in that movie. "I've never thought about it till now, but doing something with [Deadpool actor] Ryan [Reynolds] — he's awesome – that's always attractive to me. But I think [Marvel has] probably got several other people lined up to play [Wolverine]... probably you," he said, pointing to Egerton. (via Yahoo! Entertainment)

It's almost as if Jackman knew something we didn't, and his comment is likely what set the rumor mill slowly spinning. At the time, of course, Disney's acquisition of the film and television assets of Fox Studios hadn't yet begun to even take shape, but once it became clear that the X-Men were destined to be rebooted into the MCU, Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige swiftly expressed his intention to recast the merry band of mutants with much younger actors, including Wolverine. 

It makes sense — Marvel famously likes to sign its talent to long-term contracts involving as many as six pictures (or, in the case of Samuel L. Jackson, nine). While it goes without saying that a strong contingent of X-fans would love to see Jackman reprise his role in the MCU, it's safe to say that the 50-year old Jackman probably has no desire to go on playing Wolverine until he's elderly — and many of the fan-favorite choices for the role, such as 54-year old Keanu Reeves and 41-year old Tom Hardy — would come up against the same obstacle.

At 29, Egerton could potentially hold down the role for the same length of time that Jackman did. He's a remarkably versatile actor, equally adept at playing a budding superspy and an iconic rock star, and — take note, fans — he stands only five feet nine inches tall. (Wolverine is famously diminutive in the comics, and before Jackman went on to consistently nail the part for all those years, his six-foot-two frame was a major hurdle for fans to get over.)

At any rate, we'd like to think that Egerton is simply being coy. Marvel Studios is peerless when it comes to casting, and Egerton would be the kind of bold, brilliant choice that it's become renowned for. That being said, we have a couple of stray observations. First, whoever eventually ends up landing the role of Logan in the MCU, we're sincerely hoping that he appears in a film with Reynolds' Deadpool, just so we can see the Merc with a Mouth size him up and demand to know what happened to the other guy. Second, we submit that if Egerton goes from playing Elton John to playing Wolverine, it just may constitute the single greatest demonstration of an actor's range in film history. We'd love to see him snag the part for that reason alone.