Now here’s one out of leftfield. For months now, we’ve known that spellcheck nemesis Liev Schreiber had joined the cast of Gavin Hood’s Wolverine: X-Men Origins, the X-Men spin-off which explores the murky past of Hugh Jackman’s clawed, feral mutant, Logan.
And for months now, we’ve known that Schreiber was set to play the role of William Stryker, a young version of the Brian Cox character from X-Men 2, the guy behind the mysterious Weapon X programme that gave Wolverine his adamantium skeleton and his memory loss.
Only, as we’ve been told by countless taglines and trailers, nothing is what it seems. Forget what you think you know. For those lovely fellas over at CHUD are claiming that Schreiber is not playing Stryker after all, but instead has been lined up for the role of Victor Creed. Or, in other words, the fellow feral mutant who becomes Wolverine’s arch-nemesis, Sabretooth.
Instead, they’re saying that Michael C. Hall – so memorable as Dexter in the TV show of the same name – is in talks to play Stryker The Younger.
In other casting news, CHUD are saying that Hood and Fox/Marvel are also looking at the lovely Michelle Monaghan to play Silver Fox, Wolverine’s love interest in the movie. This is Good Casting. But it’s the Schreiber/Sabretooth news that’s really captured our attention.
Y’see, Gerard Butler had been strongly rumoured to be playing Sabretooth, which to our mind was perfect casting, if only for the fact that Butler is about a foot shorter than Tyler Mane, who played the role in Bryan Singer’s original X-Men movie, back in 2000. But then, most people are a foot shorter than Tyler Mane, so that was always going to be a problem.
And, while we rate Schreiber, we’re not sure that he has the ferocious, savage, malicious edge that makes Creed what he is. Butler has that in spades, while Schreiber seems more adept at playing a malevolent plotter, a pencil-pusher, the guy with the big speeches, which is surely what Stryker is.
Also, from a marquee name point of view, a Wolverine movie starring Hugh Jackman going claw-to-claw with a Sabretooth (who, in case you didn’t know already, has all of Wolverine’s attributes save the metal pigstickers, and is bigger, faster and stronger than the Canuck) played by that bloke from 300 has real commercial appeal. A Wolverine movie starring Hugh Jackman going claw-to-claw with a Sabretooth played by that bloke who played Cotton Weary in Scream doesn’t really get the spine tingling in the same way.
Still, we’re not complaining too much. After all, we’re still another day closer to a Wolverine movie, and that’s a good thing. Let’s hope that whoever plays Sabretooth, that the movie addresses a problem that’s bugged all X-fans since 2000 – why doesn’t Sabretooth recognise Wolverine when they meet? OK, so Wolverine’s had his memory wiped, so it’s understandable that he wouldn’t remember Sabretooth. But Creed should definitely know Logan…
Ah well. All will be revealed in May 2009. Filming starts soon in New Zealand.