Marvel Reportedly Considering An Emmy-Winning Actor To Replace Hugh Jackman As Wolverine
Hugh Jackman has been playing Wolverine since the first "X-Men" movie in 2000, and now it sounds like Marvel could be getting ready to hand the claws to someone else. Jeremy Allen White, who won an Emmy for playing Carmy Berzatto in "The Bear," has reportedly met with Marvel about a part in its upcoming "X-Men" reboot. According to the report, White would start with "a small role" in the reboot, but that role "would lead to more screen time down the line."
Marvel hasn't said anything publicly about White, or even about who its next Wolverine will be, and the report doesn't say whether he's been offered the part. The report does bring up White's height as one reason he could work as Wolverine, though. He's 5'7", which isn't that far off from the 5'3" Wolverine in the comics.
The last time Jackman put on the claws was 2024's "Deadpool & Wolverine," which brought him back seven years after "Logan" was supposed to be his last time in the role. But with a younger X-Men team coming in Marvel's next era, Wolverine is one of several Marvel characters who could be recast after "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Secret Wars."
Marvel has already cast a lot of its new X-Men
Marvel showed off the first group of its "X-Men" cast at D23 in August, and Wolverine wasn't part of it. Sadie Sink is going to play Jean Grey and Kit Connor is playing Cyclops, with Christopher Abbott stepping in as Professor Xavier. Samara Weaving is Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette is Rogue, Maya Boyd is Storm, and Adam Driver is playing the villain Mister Sinister. That isn't everyone, either, as Feige said the cast isn't complete yet.
Jake Schreier is directing the movie. Schreier, who made "Thunderbolts*" for Marvel, was first announced as director of Marvel's "X-Men" movie in May 2025, the same month the film hit theaters. Back in April, Schreier revealed that the script was being rewritten by "Beef" creator Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo. Calo wrote "Thunderbolts*" too and was a co-showrunner on "The Bear" with Christopher Storer, so she has already spent years working with White. There's no word on whether she's been involved in the casting talks, either. But with "X-Men" set to hit theaters on May 5, 2028, after "Avengers: Secret Wars" wraps up the Multiverse Saga, Disney and Marvel will hopefully share more information soon.
White's first meeting with Marvel didn't go well
If the news proves true, this won't be the first time that White has sat down with Marvel. "I had a meeting for a kind of Marvel-y movie, and I had an attitude," White said back in 2023. At one point, he even asked the executives in the room, "Why should I do your movie?" and, looking back, White said he thought he "played it all wrong." He wasn't exactly a big fan of superhero movies at the time, either, and once said that he was confused about how the "pinnacle of an actor's career" ended up being their superhero portrayal.
White talked about that meeting again in October 2025 on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast while promoting "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere." White said his actions and comments were disrespectful and even noted that he probably should have handled the meeting differently. He also said his issue was never really with the genre itself, it was more that he didn't know how he could fit into it or give it something it didn't already have.
Wolverine came up on that podcast too, when the host asked White about the fans who have been fancasting him in the role. White didn't say whether he wanted it, but he did call Jackman's performance great. Of course, Jackman might not be completely through with the character just yet, as Kevin Feige has already said Deadpool and Wolverine's story isn't over yet and that Marvel keeps looking at where it can fit the two of them in next.