In the year 2000, the world was given the X-Men movie. Some people may know that Dougray Scott was cast as Wolverine before being replaced by Hugh Jackman, but people may not know that Viggo Mortensen was also close to clinching the role. That may be a little strange, considering how iconic Jackman, but what's really out there is that Michael Jackson was actively interested in playing Professor Xavier.
The Hollywood Reporter reached out to original X-Men Screenwriter David Hayter (By the way, did you know Solid Snake wrote X-Men's script?) and talked to him about the casting sessions for the movie.
“I was brought on as they were casting, so I was lucky enough to be there for some of the people who came in like Terence Stamp for Xavier and Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey for Storm,” Hayter explained. “Michael Jackson came in because he wanted to play Professor X. It was amazing. Shaq came in [for Bishop]. Viggo Mortensen came in. I really liked Viggo for Wolverine, but it didn't come together for whatever reason. Angela Bassett was our first choice for Storm, but her agents wanted more money than we had at the time. Same with Rachael Leigh Cook for Rogue.”
Terence Stamp made a bit of sense for Xavier, playing General Zod in the Superman films and being a bald man, but Michael Jackson seems a bit out of character for Professor X. Shaq as Bishop also seems pretty strange. Honestly, looking back, the entire feel of the movie would be really different with personalities such as those. Halle Berry as Storm didn't have her existing personality clash with the character, but Shaq and Michael Jackson were already huge at the time and would definitely overshadow the characters they were meant to portray. It may not have been seen as the movie that kickstarted the superhero movie genre we know today if these decisions were made, as interesting as they may have been.
The real injustice, however, is not putting Viggo Mortensen into another role. But to be fair, we just need more Viggo in every movie. Are there any roles you wish could have happened in a superhero movie of the past?
