“It’s such a drama putting that suit on,” said Vinnie Jones, explaining why he turned down the chance to play Juggernaut in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Besides the title characters played by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, Deadpool & Wolverine will include a whole raft of superhero cameos from what we can gather (assuming superheroes hang around on rafts).
One actor who won’t be reprising a familiar role, though, is Vinnie Jones, last seen as Juggernaut in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. In an interview with Yahoo Movies, Jones revealed that he’d been asked whether he fancied reprising his role as the heavyweight villain in this summer’s latest opus. But despite having an affection for 2016’s Deadpool ( it’s “my favourite fucking movie of all time,” he said), Jones turned the role down – due to the physical and mental toll of putting on the old costume again, and also because of his less-than-happy memories of making X-Men 3.
“Funnily enough, I just got asked to do Deadpool, the new one now, and I spoke to the director and I just said it’s such a drama putting that suit on mentally and physically,” Jones told Yahoo. “I mean it had its mental toll as well because you’re in it and you can’t do anything all day, you can only drink through a straw. So we couldn’t strike the deal for Deadpool [& Wolverine].“
Of that third X-Men film, directed by Brett Ratner, Jones recalled his part being considerably watered down through its troubled production, and that his role was reduced to such an extent that he essentially “became an extra.” Jones was haunted by the experience to such an extent that, it seemed, director Shawn Levy couldn’t come up with a salary big enough to convince Jones to suit back up as Juggernaut again.
Among the stars who are coming back, though, we have Jennifer Garner as Elektra and Aaron Stanford as Pyro, while James Marsden (Cyclops), Patrick Stewart (Professor X) and Ian McKellen (Magneto) are also rumoured to be making an appearance. According to both director Matthew Vaughn and the Merc with the Mouth himself, the latest Deadpool is the film that will “save” the MCU. Possibly through the power of cameos.
Deadpool & Wolverine is out in UK cinemas on the 26th July 2024.
