Kingsman star Taron Egerton has revealed why he once passed on the possibility of playing Marvel’s Cyclops in the X-Men franchise, but has said he remains open to one day playing Wolverine.
Taron Egerton is probably best known for playing young spy Eggsy in the Kingsman movies, or possibly for his portrayal of Elton John in the 2019 biopic Rocketman. Some Marvel fans are eager to see him join the MCU and he has proven a popular fan casting to take over from Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.
Following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the rights to the X-Men have now been handed back from Fox to Marvel Studios, meaning Egerton could be in the running for Marvel’s reboot of the franchise. However, he has already passed on the opportunity to become an X-Man once before.
Cyclops Vs. Wolverine
While appearing on Sway’s Universe to talk about his new Apple TV series Black Bird, Taron Egerton was asked about the possibility of him joining the X-Men franchise.
When asked about the rumors that he could be playing the iconic mutant Wolverine, Egerton revealed he had previously had a meeting at Marvel, but the stories about him being in talks to play Wolverine specifically were a misreading of his comments.
Clarifying the origin of the Wolverine rumors, Taron Egerton said:
“I made the mistake of saying that I had had a general meeting at Marvel around four years ago, which is true. But it got kind of spun and twisted into this thing…
“Look, I’ve always said… I don’t know if I’m the right guy to play that part. I was with Hugh [Jackman] yesterday, briefly, who obviously played the role originally. We’re such different vibes. I don’t know if I would be the right person to follow him. But I’ve always said I would be open to it. But at the moment, there’s no truth, other than the fan-casting thing, which goes kind of crazy every time I mention it. But, you know, who knows.”
The actor was then asked about rumors that he had once almost played Cyclops in X-Men: Apocalypse – the first X-Men prequel to feature a younger version of the team’s eventual leader, following his initial portrayal by James Marsden in the first three X-Men movies.
Taron Egerton confirmed he had been in discussions to play Cyclops, but ultimately turned it down. The actor cited having to have his eyes covered for the role, meaning he would be unable to convey emotion through his eyes in his performance, as the reason:
“I don’t mind saying that was a real thing, that was a real conversation. I’ve never said this, actually. To be honest, the reason that conversation never went anywhere further is because I didn’t want to play a character for a potential series of movies where you don’t see my eyes.
“For me, I felt, instinctively, creatively, that – like, the eyes are the windows to the soul. I would find that challenging, and I just didn’t find it an intriguing prospect. It’s not that they ever offered it to me, but there was a conversation – a real conversation – that never went any further.”
With no announcement made yet regarding Marvel Studios’ plans for the live-action X-Men franchise, fans might have a bit of a wait before they find out whether Taron Egerton is joining the team as the MCU’s Wolverine. However, it sounds like the Egerton would consider following in Hugh Jackman’s footsteps.
Marvel did recently confirm plans for the upcoming animated series X-Men ’97. The series is set to feature the return of voice actors Cal Dodd, Lenore Zann, George Buza, Adrian Hough, Christopher Britton, Catherine Disher, Chris Potter, Alison Sealy-Smith, and Alyson Court. The Disney Plus series also features the voice talents of Jennifer Hale, Anniwaa Buachie, Ray Chase, Matthew Waterson, JP Karliak, Holly Chou, Jeff Bennett, and AJ LoCascio.
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Source: Sway’s Universe