Former Marvel Star Admits Relief Over Not Returning for a Cameo

X-Men Origins star Liev Schreiber explains why he was glad his Sabertooth wasn’t part of Deadpool & Wolverine!

Deadpool & Wolverine brought back a lineup of iconic characters from the 1990s and 2000s eras of Marvel movies, however, one former star of that same era is glad that they didn’t have a cameo role in Deadpool 3. Liev Schrieber (Ray Donovan) starred in X-Men Origins: Wolverine as a younger version of Victor Creed, the mutant menace who becomes Wolverine’s nemesis, Sabertooth. But while actor Tyler Mane reprised his role as Sabertooth from X-Men (2000), but Schreiber didn’t feel the need for a reunion with his X-Men Origins co-stars Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds. 

It’s not that Schreiber doesn’t love the Marvel Universe or its fans – in fact, when asked about the legacy of playing Victor Creed/Sabertooth, the actor outright stated “It’s amazing. I can’t begin to tell you what it feels like when people are thinking about something you did and are so appreciative of it that they want you to do it again.”

However, Schreiber freely admits that he no longer has the same drive as Jackman and Reynolds when it comes to physically transforming his body for the Sabertooth role: “To be honest, it’s a lot of work getting your body up to that point,” Schreiber told Collider. “I know I watched Hugh [Jackman] get himself ready again, and I thought, ‘I’m okay to sit by the sidelines.'”

To be fair, Liev Schreiber probably wouldn’t have had to go all-out on the fitness regiment in order to play Victor Creed in Deadpool & Wolverine – the film did a humorous job of creating shortcuts to recreating some of the famous X-Men movie villains of the past, from Lady Deathstrike to Psylocke, the Juggernaut, The Blob, Azazel, and Callisto – all of whom were played by new actors filling in for the original performers. Simply walking onscreen in a long black trench coat would’ve been enough to thrill X-Men movie fans. 

That said, Victor Creed/Sabertooth never had the biggest or most dynamic arc in the X-Men movie saga – having two versions of the character in Deadpool & Wolverine might’ve been a great sight gag, but it was probably more effective to have Mane’s Sabertooth actually get a valid action sequence with Jackman’s Wolverine, rather than the silly choreography we got in X-Men (2000). As Schreiber acknowledged, his onscreen battle(s) with Jackman is still getting praise today. 

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is streaming on Disney+. Deadpool & Wolverine is playing in theaters.