NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 22: Aaron Stanford attends the “Deadpool & Wolverine” New York Premiere on … [+]
Deadpool & Wolverine star Aaron Stanford—who plays Pyro opposite Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in the MCU blockbuster—is breaking down a hilarious scene in the movie involving a major cameo appearance.
Note: This article contains spoilers from here on out.
Stanford first played Pyro in 2003’s X2: X-Men United and reprised the role in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. In Deadpool & Wolverine, Stanford returns as Pyro and serves as supervillain Cassandra Nova’s (Emma Corrin) top henchman.
Pyro—who can emit flames from his hands and manipulate fire—puts his superpowers to great use in a scene involving the return of Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Evans played the character in 20th Century Fox’s Marvel movie Fantastic Four in 2005 and its 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Evans, of course, also played Captain America/Steve Rogers in several Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, leading audiences to guess whether he would reprise the role when he turns up wearing a tattered hooded blue cloak in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Instead, it’s the actor’s other Marvel character, Johnny, who triumphantly shouts out his catchphrase “Flame on!” before Pyro quickly extinguishes The Human Torch’s powers while he’s in flight.
“I loved it. It was a really great unexpected reversal and was absolutely perfect because Pyro’s superpower is highly specialized,” Stanford told me in a recent Zoom conversation.
“There’s not a lot of things he can do,” Stanford added. “There are plenty of mutant superheroes that he could go up against where Pyro wouldn’t stand a chance against. But The Human Torch? That’s not a problem. He messed with the wrong mutant in that circumstance.”
Chris Evans during “Fantastic Four” New York City Premiere in 2— at Liberty Island in New York City, … [+]
Stanford Wanted To Make His Battle With The Human Torch Simple
After Pyro absorbs The Human Torch’s flames in Deadpool & Wolverine, Johnny goes into a freefall and painfully lands groin-first on a billboard-like frame before he continues to tumble and hits the ground hard.
While discussing the scene on the set with director Shawn Levy, Aaron Stanford lobbied for a relatively straightforward turn of events as Pyro soundly defeats the Fantastic Four superhero with little if any resistance.
“He said, ‘It’s got to be more dynamic’ and I said, ‘Shawn, this is the easiest thing in the world for Pyro. This is nothing to him. Anybody else he would go up against would be a match. But going [against The Human Torch] is like an afterthought. Fire is Pyro’s power.’”
Stanford said the scene with Evans marked a reunion of sorts since both were Fox Marvel actors in the same era.
“I think they were shooting Fantastic Four while we were shooting either X2 or X3—I don’t remember which one—I want to say X2,” Stanford recalled. “But we were shooting our films at the same time while were in Vancouver and I remember playing poker with Chris Evans. It was fun after all this time to come full circle.”
Also starring Matthew Macfadyen, Leslie Uggams, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney and several other stars in cameo roles, Deadpool & Wolverine is playing in theaters nationwide.
Note: This interview was edited for clarity.
