MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

8 Sigourney Weaver as Emma Frost

This may come as a shock to some, but Sigourney Weaver, most known for her performance as Ripley in the Alien franchise, was originally considered for the role of Emma Frost. It was Bryan Singer’s wish, the director responsible for the very first two X-Men films to have Weaver play the role of Emma Frost in X-Men: The Last Stand. Despite having her lined up for the role when Singer left the X-Men franchise to pursue other directing opportunities, his departure brought a change in casting. While many love January Jones’ portrayal of Frost in X-Men: First Class, we can’t help but wonder what it would’ve been like to see Weaver as this powerful beauty.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

7 John Hurt as Magneto

     Columbia Pictures

The late Sir John Hurt, most known for his unique voice and his Academy-Award nominated performance in The Elephant Man, was considered for the role of Magneto in the original X-Men film. Among other contenders, including the voice actor of Magneto in X-Men: The Animated Series, Hurt was the one that seemed most likely to get the role with decades of acting experience under his belt, that is, until Sir Ian McKellen entered the picture. While both actors had a great deal to offer for the role, McKellen won out in the end. That said, this was not the end of John Hurt’s attempt to enter the comic book world as he went on to play the role of Professor Trevor Broom in Hellboy.

6 Rachael Leigh Cook as Rogue

     Miramax

It’s hard to picture anyone apart from Anna Paquin playing the role of Rogue, whose powers send her into an angsty spiral. That said, Rachael Leigh Cook from She’s All That was heavily considered for the role Rogue, but she turned it down to “avoid acting on a green screen”. Cook wanted to be taken more seriously as an actress, and she thought that taking the role would not help her cause. Cook quickly realized her mistake and while she hasn’t failed to get work over the years, taking the role in X-Men would have helped her career to move in the right direction.

5 Lucy Liu as Mystique

Lucy Liu’s career was soaring at the time that the first X-Men film was conceived, juggling Shanghai Noon and Charlie’s Angels, which brought Liu a great deal of attention for her skills in action films. While Rebecca Romjin was eventually chosen for the role in the original X-Men, fans are still grieving the loss of the potential to see Liu kick some major ass as Mystique. While Romjin and Jennifer Lawrence both did the character justice, it’s difficult not to wonder what Liu would have done differently had she been given the opportunity.

4 Kevin Nash as Sabretooth

Sabretooth is a vicious lion-like mutant who is not afraid to rip you to shreds if he needs to. Making his first appearance in X-Men, Sabretooth is played by Canadian wrestler Tyler Mane, known for his huge presence. Another wrestler who was heavily considered for the role is Kevin Nash AKA Big Daddy Cool Diesel. Unlike Mane, Nash never went on to do any acting, staying in his field of wrestling. This seemed to be the best move for Nash as he moved on to found the New World Order alongside Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. That said, we can’t help but wonder how different his career would be had he played the role of Sabretooth.

3 David Harbour as Blob

     Netflix

David Harbour, best known for his performance as Jim Hopper in Stranger Things, for which he received an Emmy, was considered for the role of the Blob in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The main reason behind him being turned down for the role at the time was that he was told he was too fat. At the audition, Harbour lifted his shirt and showed off his belly fat, which ultimately cost him the role. Pretty laughable considering the Blob is a massive man with an excessive amount of body mass. Instead, Kevin Durand was cast and wore a fat suit for the duration of the film.

2 Angela Bassett as Storm

     Marvel Studios

Halle Berry was the perfect choice for Storm, but many others were considered before a final decision was made. One of these considerations was the award-winning actress Angela Bassett. She was originally the first choice for Storm, but her agents insisted that she be paid more, which was not feasible for the producers of the original X-Men film as it was just the beginning of the franchise and had a smaller budget than its successors. Bassett would eventually join the MCU as Ramonda in Black Panther, also making an appearance in Avengers: Endgame and is set to return to the role in the highly anticipated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

1 Russell Crowe as Wolverine

Probably the most surprising addition to this list is Russell Crowe turning down the role of Wolverine. Singer’s original choice for the role was Russell Crowe, whose reasoning for turning down the role was because of the relation to wolves both Gladiator and his potential role as Wolverine in X-Men would force him to do roles only related to wolves. Funnily enough, Jackman had the same assumption that the role of Wolverine had something to do with wolves, but they were both wrong. It’s hard to picture anyone but Jackman in the role of Wolverine, so perhaps Crowe’s choice to decline the role was for the best.