Hugh Jackman's Wolverine casting taught Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige a valuable lesson early on his career. Now known as two of the bigger names in the world of superhero movies, Hugh Jackman and Kevin Feige's careers with Marvel were and continue to be quite successful. Jackman got his start playing Wolverine in 2000's X-Men and hung up the adamantium claws after 2017's Logan, but Feige remains the chief behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its ongoing success.
Although Marvel fans are quite fond of both men at this stage, that wasn't exactly the case when Hugh Jackman was first announced to be Wolverine in X-Men. His casting came after Dougray Scott had to leave the role, and it quickly became the biggest role of Jackman's career. However, not everyone was onboard with Jackman playing Wolverine, as the 6'2 Aussie with leading man looks didn't exactly look like the character's comic counterpart. He ultimately proved the doubters wrong and became synonymous with his role as Wolverine despite his look. Little did Jackman know that this helped Kevin Feige recognize something important when it comes to casting superhero movies.
Feige recalled the outrage to a tall Wolverine in The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and revealed the important lesson he took from it. The key to Jackman's Wolverine casting - and any comic book movie castings - in Feige's mind is that whoever gets the role embodies the spirit of the character first and foremost. Matching the physical look from the comics isn't as important to Feige, as Jackman matched Wolverine's comic spirit.
Who cares that he's so tall? He embodies the spirit of Wolverine, and that was a big lesson that I always took from that. It doesn't have to match the comic frame exactly. It has to match the spirit of it.
With this thought process in mind, it is easy to see how Feige applied his thoughts on Hugh Jackman's Wolverine casting to crafting the MCU. The early years of Marvel Studios did see their casting decisions remain quite faithful to how characters looked in the comics. Chris Evans' Captain America, Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man, and Chris Hemsworth's Thor looked like they were ripped straight out of the source material. However, the MCU has more recently switched up this game plan and changed the looks, ethnicities, and genders of prominent characters like The Ancient One, Kang the Conqueror, Mar-Vell, Mary Jane/Michelle, and Eternals characters such as Ajak and Makkari.
Feige's mindset in regards to Jackman's Wolverine casting could even have repercussions for the MCU's Wolverine. There are a lot of fans who want to see the actor who plays Wolverine in the MCU to have a more traditional look to the comics: shorter, stockier, and a bit more rugged. If Feige is primarily concerned with finding actors who embody the spirit of their comic character, that could mean the MCU's Wolverine actor also looks quite different from Jackman and the comics. In any case, that individual will have to work with Feige to differentiate his portrayal from Jackman's.