It’s sometimes hard to imagine the film landscape for superheroes before the rampant saturation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008. Sometimes, it’s good to go back to the days before the MCU and remind ourselves of what made the superhero genre so good, particularly during the turn of the millennium.
There are, of course, some moments that we would all like to forget, and one is a deleted scene that we’re about to discuss. The deleted scene from the final cut of Fantastic Four (2005) includes the poorly-realised (most of us would call it downright creepy) CGI attempt of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Reed Richards (played by Ioan Gruffudd) is speaking to Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) in the scene and reflects on her desire for a “stronger man.”
In case you didnt know, Fantastic Four (2005) had a deleted scene where Reed morphs his face into Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. pic.twitter.com/BnOYrFnGWh
— yehu ✡︎ | support SAG/WGA (@comicyehu) August 10, 2023
Right before our eyes (soon to be horrified eyes, let’s be honest), the stretchy superhero manages to stretch, or perhaps contort, his face to match Hugh Jackman’s clawed superhero, as seen above. It’s important to remember that in 2005, computer-generated effects were not as sophisticated as they are today, so the end result is a bit ropey, to put it kindly.
The image is not one you can forget either (sorry for any nightmares in advance), yet the scene was likely considered pretty groundbreaking to fans. Suffice it to say, the unofficial cameo was removed from the final cut, and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine never crossed over with the Fantastic Four at the time. Jackman will, however, debut in the MCU with the arrival of Deadpool 3, due in 2024.
What are your favourite pre-MCU superhero films? (mine would be Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man from 2002), so let us know in the comments below!
