Liev Schreiber was approached to reprise his role of Sabertooth in Logan before the character was cut. Throughout his history in comic books, Wolverine has had an enemy in Sabertooth. Both were a part of the Weapon X program where their rivalry blossomed and while there have been moments where they have been on the same side, in the end they always end up locking claws.

In the films, the pair have showed-down multiple times. The first instance was in X-Men, where Victor was a henchman for Magneto. He got a much bigger role in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where Sabertooth was recast as Liev Schreiber and made into Logan's brother. While the film didn't get good reviews, the relationship between the characters and Schreiber's performance were among the high points. As such, it had previously been revealed that Sabertooth was considered to return in the final Wolverine film. We now have some details on how this developed.

Speaking to Variety, Schreiber revealed he was asked to reprise the role in Logan and seriously considered coming back:

"There was an invitation early on from Hugh [Jackman] and [director James Mangold] and I would have loved to work on it. It was very difficult given Ray Donovan’s schedule, and I think they went a different direction as well with story. I think it’s a terrific movie. I’m just very proud of Hugh and the way that he handled himself with that franchise and that character. It was a great experience to be involved with one of them and to get to work with them. I had mixed emotions when I heard that he was going to retire."

It appears that Schreiber's schedule was a part of the reason the character was cut from the film; he stars on the show Ray Donovan, which naturally takes up a lot of time, and has various other projects on the go like boxing biopic Chuck. However, the previously reported story changes also sound to be a key factor.

Sabertooth would have fit well in Logan; the film has a large focus on family, so it would have been the ideal opportunity to provide closure to these half-brothers. That said, due to many of the mutants having been wiped out before the film begins it wasn't a glaring omission.

Sabertooth's future in the X-Men films is unknown, but with Hugh Jackman retired from playing Wolverine, it doesn't seem likely that Schreiber will have another chance to play the role.

Source: Variety

Next: 15 Greatest Performances In The Wolverine Trilogy