Vinnie Jones calls Juggernaut role in 'X-Men: Last Stand' the most 'disappointing' gig of his career
The actor's role as Juggernaut upset many comic book fans
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vinnie Jones is speaking out about the “disappointing” role he had working on the third installment in the “X-Men” franchise, “Last Stand.”
The actor and former soccer player was brought on to portray the character Juggernaut, a wildly popular villain in Marvel comics who is often depicted as having particular ties to the super-powered team’s leader, Professor Xavier. However, his portrayal of the character, like the rest of the movie, has been criticized by comic book fans over the years and now Jones is hoping to set the record straight.
Speaking to ComicBookMovie, Jones explained that he was brought onto the project by director Matthew Vaughn. However, Vaughn had to leave the project for personal reasons and Brett Ratner was tapped as his replacement. As Jones puts it, Ratner almost immediately started slashing Juggernaut’s role in the film.
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“I basically got mugged off. Matthew Vaughn signed me up, and it was a great role and a great script, and Juggernaut was a great character. I signed up for three of them, and that will show you how serious I was about it,” Jones told the outlet. “Brett Ratner basically dissolved the character. I was in my f---ing trailer half the time. It's one of the most disappointing jobs I've been on as far as, you know, 'What am I doing here?'"
Vinnie Jones opened up about his role in 'X-Men: Last Stand' (David Livingston/Getty Images)
Jones explained that there was a significantly richer story for Juggernaut in the movie, and said Ratner made empty promises to restore most of it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It wasn't the same Juggernaut as I signed on for. They took his storyline away, they'd taken his character away, his dialogue. I had two big meetings with Brett about it, and he said, 'Yeah, yeah, it's coming. They're writing stuff for you as we speak' and it never f---ing happened,” he explained. “Disappointment wise, that was probably one of the biggest.
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Jones notes that the worst part of the ordeal was that he had every intention of doing right by comic book fans, but now gets ridiculed and blamed for the watered-down version that made it to the screen in 2006.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It was f---ing nothing to do with me! That role, I didn't sign up for. The Juggernaut you saw was not the Juggernaut I signed on for with Matthew Vaughn, I'll tell you that now. It upset me,” he said.
Jones added: “I know what it means to the fans, and I felt like I was a bit of a scapegoat as no one ever told my side of it. Nobody ever stood up and said, 'Hold on a minute, we completely whitewashed Vinnie's character.' Basically, I was an extra, mate. That's how I felt. I was gutted, to be honest."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jones said that he’d “love a chance at putting it right” in a future “X-Men” movie. However, it’s likely that ship has sailed now that “Deadpool 2” resurrected the character as a VFX giant voiced by Ryan Reynolds.