‘X-Men: First Class” Jason Flemyng recently opened up about why he turned down the chance to return as Azazel in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’
In an interview with ComicBookMovie, Flemyng explained why he passed on the offer from Marvel Studios and shared his thoughts on working in superhero movies.
Flemyng played Azazel in Matthew Vaughn’s ‘X-Men: First Class.’ Vaughn had plans for Azazel to play a bigger role in the X-Men universe, but those ideas were scrapped when Bryan Singer returned to direct ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past.’ Azazel and the rest of Magneto’s Brotherhood was killed off-screen. He got a second chance to appear in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ this year, but the role went to stuntman Eduardo Gago Munoz.
Marvel Studios reached out to Flemyng and offered him a chance to reprise his role, but he turned it down. Explaining why he didn’t see a reason for returning, he said, “Basically, they came to us and were like, ‘Would you like to do it? It’s three days fighting, two days makeup tests. Basically, you’ll be hired as a stunt performer.’ [frick], mate, listen, if I needed a couple of grand I’d have done it, but I didn’t at the time so I was like, ‘You know what, let a stunt man do it and they’ll do a good job. It’s fine.’”
‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ star Vinnie Jones also declined to return as Juggernaut for similar reasons. Jones said the role required too much effort for such a small part, and Flemyng faced a similar situation with Azazel.
Flemyng also shared his thoughts on working in big superhero movies. “The reality is, you’re five months away from home,” he said. “You put all that makeup up and they go, ‘Cut, thanks very much Jason. We’ll see you next Thursday.’ It can be wearing.”
Flemyng says he’s now in a position where he can be more selective with the roles he takes. He’s open to returning as Azazel under better conditions like a longer filming schedule with more involvement. But he’s happy not to rely on those roles anymore and can focus on projects that allow him to stay closer to home.
Flemyng is now focused on his role in ‘The Stoic.’ It’s a project he says he’d gladly choose over ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’ ‘The Stoic’ is now available on Digital and On Demand.
