18 years after his last appearance in 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise, 47-year-old actor Aaron Stanford has now addressed his potential return in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The MCU's Multiverse Saga has featured appearances of several mutant characters from the Marvel Comics, and this was made possible after Disney's acquisition of Fox in 2019. We've already seen some actors reprise their roles from Fox's X-Men Universe, including Kelsey Grammer as Beast, Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier, and soon, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman will join the MCU when Deadpool 3 releases in a few months.
The highly-anticipated Marvel Studios movie will not only feature the MCU debut of Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, but also other mutants such as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Colossus, and Yukon, who are confirmed to return somehow. With many actors from Fox's X-Men Universe returning in the MCU, other actors from the X-Men movies have also been asked about possibly reprising their roles. One of them is Aaron Stanford, who played John Allerdyce's Pyro in 2003's X2 and 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand.
Speaking to The Direct's Russ Milheim while promoting his 2023 movie Finestkind, he was asked whether he would hypothetically reprise his X-Men role if Marvel Studios taps him. Although he mentioned that he had fun during the production of his prior X-Men movies, Standford didn't provide a definitive answer, saying that he'd "have to think about it."
I'd have to think about it. You know, it's a character that, I've been there and done that. I quite enjoyed it. And I still have many, many fond memories and a lot of lasting friendships from those experiences... I don't know, man. It's an intriguing question. I would have to consider it.
Where could Pyro appear in the MCU?
Aaron Stanford's vague response suggest that there's a possibility for him to return as Pyro in the MCU's future, and Marvel Studios has several upcoming projects where he could reprise his role. The upcoming Deadpool 3 is expected to feature several cameos from Fox's X-Men movies, and with the threequel being a Multiversal showdown, a brief appearance Stanford's Pyro could make a lot of sense. It'll likely just be a fleeting cameo if it happens.
Fans are speculating that James Marsden’s Cyclops and Halle Berry’s Storm will be returning alongside Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, so if they actually return, there's a chance that some of the villains from the previous X-Men movies still exist.
If he doesn't end up appearing in Deadpool 3, Pyro could return in Avengers: Secret Wars. One way he could return is by causing conflict with Monica Rambeau, who's currently stuck in a universe filled with mutants.
