Lost's Josh Holloway Almost Played A Marvel Hero In The Worst X-Men Movie

"Lost" changed television forever. It arrived just as TV was starting to become more serialized and genre-focused. Moreover, the show's mystery box approach to its mythology got the whole world obsessed with learning about The Island and its many strange mysteries.

That said, a big part of what made "Lost" so successful had to do with its cast, which was comparatively diverse for a show made in 2004. (Don't forget: It featured an Iraqi main character barely a year after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, along with an entire storyline in which characters speak Korean with English subtitles.) But as beloved as most of the characters on "Lost" are, Josh Holloway's James "Sawyer" Ford is easily one of the series' best elements. 

Back when "Lost" was on the air, Sawyer was the rare example of a character from the U.S. South being portrayed as cunning and clever rather than a hillbilly. Similarly, Holloway himself became one of the show's breakout stars following its premiere, which inevitably led to him getting offered some major movie roles. Luckily for him, though, this led to him missing out on what might've seemed like a great superhero project at the time.

Speaking at a Fan Expo Portland panel (via Collider), Holloway admitted that he came dangerously close to playing Remy LeBeau, aka Gambit, in 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (which many folks consider the worst "X-Men" movie ever made). "I read with Hugh Jackman and got the part. They hugged me, said, 'You're it! I'll see you on set,'" Holloway recalled. "By the end of that evening, the studio head had called and said, 'We want someone 10 years younger.' So, they got Taylor Kitsch. Which, I wonder if he could come back? Who knows, but thank you. I learned the card tricks and everything."

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is not a good movie. Really, it's a truly awful movie. It has dodgy visual effects, a horrendous script full of cliches, sub-par action sequences, and terrible one-liners. Overall, it truly is the worst "X-Men" movie made to date which is saying something considering the franchise includes some capital B bad movies. ("Dark Phoenix," anyone?)

Most notably, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" messed up the introduction of not one but two great Marvel characters in Gambit and Deadpool. In the latter's case, it took seven years for his reputation to be salvaged thanks to the 2016 "Deadpool" movie. Likewise, Taylor Kitsch's portrayal of Gambit in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" was, to put it mildly, not particularly great, and the film's unflattering reception also killed a planned Gambit spin-off. Granted, its script didn't do the actor any favors, either, while Kitsch himself seems cool with Channing Tatum having replaced him as Gambit in "Deadpool & Wolverine."

Had Josh Holloway played Gambit in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," we would've at least gotten a good, engaging actor in the role. Still, it's unlikely that he alone would've been able to fix that film's many issues. Even worse, its reception would have likely hurt Holloway professionally. Instead, he went on to appear in 2011's fantastic "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol" before landing a cushy, stable acting gig on "Colony" for three seasons.

As for Gambit, he himself has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence lately. On top of the character being a standout in the first season of the animated series "X-Men '97," Tatum's interpretation of the Ragin Cajun' was one of the highlights of "Deadpool & Wolverine." He's now set to return when "Avengers: Doomsday" hits theaters on December 18, 2026.