Former Juggernaut Vinnie Jones says he turned down Deadpool & Wolverine
Apologies to anyone hoping to see the X-Men 3 version of Juggernaut trying to smash Deadpool and Wolverine this July
Among the many secretive X-Men cameos set for this summer’s Deadpool & Wolverine, we can confirm at least one you won’t see: Vinnie Jones reprising his role as Cain “Juggernaut” Marko from 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand.
Jones—who’s done a mixture of low-rent action films and mid-budget TV shows over the last few years, including a semi-regular stint in the Arrowverse and on Law & Order: Organized Crime—says he was approached about being in the third Deadpool movie, which, as the character’s formal introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is throwing a whole bunch of jokes about the old Fox X-Men movies at the wall to see what sticks. Jones says he ultimately turned it down, not out of distaste for the Merc With The Mouth, but The Suit With The Very Restrictive Body Motions.
“I spoke to the director and I just said it’s such a drama putting that suit on mentally and physically,” Jones said in a recent interview with Yahoo Movies UK. “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.” Tragic news for anyone hoping to hear Ryan Reynolds belt out a whole lot of new variations on Jones’ iconic line “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!”—including, presumably, Jones who says he’s a huge fan of the Deadpool movies. (No word on what he thought about Deadpool 2, where Juggernaut appears as a wholly CGI creation voiced by Reynolds, though.)
Jones did take a little time for some nostalgic shit-talking, though, noting that one film he didn’t particularly enjoy being in was, well, X-Men: The Last Stand, which had a troubled production after director Bryan Singer jumped ship to go direct Superman Returns, leaving Brett Rattner in charge of the production. Jones: “The new director came on and it was not the same role as I had signed on to do. They diluted the dialogue … The director brought in so many moving parts and so many other actors that mine got diluted. I lost all interest quite early because I knew they were just taking me along … I was very upset really. It was such a big stage and I became an extra, that’s what happened.”