15 Actors Who Really Wanted To Be In Comic Book Movies (And Failed)

3. Keanu Reeves Wanted To Be Wolverine

Keanu Reeves is different to other entries on this list in that he has actually already fulfilled the ambition of them all by appearing as a superhero, though it wasn€™t the one he dreamed of portraying. Francis Lawrence€™s 2005 take on the story of John Constantine was adapted from the comic Hellblazer, created by the Vertigo branch of DC, and followed the Dangerous Habits story arc and the Original Sins trade paperback.

The film received a lukewarm response from critics and failed to capture imaginations at the time, though Lawrence believes it has slowly started to build up a cult following and has expressed his desire to work on a sequel untethered by a PG13 rating. Whether Reeves would reprise his role or not remains to be seen, though he continues to lament the ones that got away:

"I always wanted to play Wolverine, but I didn't get that. And they have a great Wolverine now. I always wanted to play The Dark Knight. But I didn't get that one. They've had some great Batmans. So now I'm just enjoying them as an audience."
Contributor

Phil still hasn't got round to writing a profile yet, as he has an unhealthy amount of box sets on the go.