After almost 20 years, Aaron Stanford returned to reprise his role as Pyro in Deadpool & Wolverine. But compared to other X-Men villains who appeared in the threequel, the 47-year-old star had a major role to play. He worked as an informant for the Time Variance Authority (TVA) agent, Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen), as he spied on Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) in the Void. But as Marvel didn’t clear which version of Pyro was seen, Stanford revealed the variant of his character who appeared in the third Deadpool movie.
Stanford first played the role of the fire-throwing Pyro in Bryan Singer’s 2003 X2: X-Men United. His second and last appearance was in Brett Ratner’s 2006 X-Men: The Last Stand. As Deadpool & Wolverine is set in the Multiverse Saga, where different variants of characters appear, like various versions of Wade (Ryan Reynolds) and Logan (Hugh Jackman), the actor told The Direct that it was the “established Pyro” from X2 and The Last Stand seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.
“This is a Pyro who has somehow been banished to this Mad Max wasteland, and he's in this hellish limbo for who knows how long,” he explained. “So, it is the established Pyro, but he's been through a lot since we last saw him.”
The 12 Monkeys star added that Pyro has been through a lot. Based on his physical appearance alone, this character has been through the wringer after several years have passed. Hence, Stanford stressed that the recently seen Pyro was not ripped straight from Professor X’s School for Gifted Youngsters and time-traveled, but a Pyro who had experienced a lot in life after The Last Stand.
Aaron Stanford Thankful to Have Worked with Emma Corrin & Chris Evans in Deadpool & Wolverine
Instead of just a cameo, Stanford played a supporting role in Deadpool & Wolverine. He was one of Cassandra’s henchmen in the Void. As he secretly resented her and wanted to escape that dimension, he tried killing Cassandra, though to no avail. So, after director Shawn Levy added his scene with Cassandra murdering him when they arrived in his home universe, he was grateful to have worked with Corrin as a big fan of Netflix’s The Crown, where they played Princess Diana in the fourth season.
“It was great to get some one-on-one face time with Emma Corrin,” he said. “I'm a huge fan of The Crown. I feel very lucky and very grateful.”
He also felt honored to work with Chris Evans, who reprised his role as Johnny Storm / Human Torch from Tim Story’s 2005 Fantastic Four and 2007 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. As Evans’ appearance was one of the film’s biggest secrets, Stanford was thankful to be part of that.
“That was my very first––I shot that scene; that was my very first day of work,” he continued. “I showed up to work and had read in the scripts where I was meant to be. And didn't know what to expect when I showed up.”
Pyro effortlessly absorbed Human Torch’s flaming abilities when the latter tried to attack him as the X-Men villains arrived to face Deadpool and Wolverine and took them to the Void. It was one of the best scenes in the series, having a glimpse of the two misbegotten characters’ incredible powers once again after almost two decades.
However, with Pyro’s death, it is unclear if Stanford will once again return to the MCU. But as the Multiverse Saga is still at play, anything is possible.
