Ryan Reynolds has a second role in Deadpool 2 as the voice of Juggernaut, and here’s why he played the giant X-Men villain in the sequel.
The Deadpool 2 Juggernaut appearance and Wade Wilson were both played by Ryan Reynolds – here’s why. Notably, the Deadpool solo films allowed Reynolds to make up for the disappointment following the portrayal of Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. 2016’s Deadpool was a massive hit and launched a new X-Men franchise for 20th Century Fox. The R-rated action-comedy superhero movie quickly got a sequel, and Deadpool 2 made sure to go bigger than the first.
Deadpool 2 introduced Cable (Josh Brolin) and Domino (Zazie Beetz), and it killed the first X-Force team shortly after they assembled. The sequel also gave the X-Men villain Juggernaut a chance at big-screen redemption. Juggernaut is one of the many inmates who were in Ice Box at the same time that Wade Wilson and Russell Collins aka Firefist. The latter formed an alliance with Juggernaut and helped him escape in exchange for the giant’s help in getting revenge on those who hurt Russell in the past. This leads to Juggernaut having a role in the third act, including a climactic fight with Colossus.
While Vinnie Jones played Juggernaut in his last live-action appearance, Deadpool 2‘s version of Juggernaut was a giant CGI creation. This gave the film an ability to create a more comic-accurate depiction of the villain’s intimidating physical appearance and the unbreakable helmet that obscures most of his head. A physical actor wasn’t needed to bring Juggernaut to life, but he does have a few lines that required someone to provide the voice. Instead of bringing a new actor aboard Deadpool 2, the voice fans heard was actually that of Ryan Reynolds and that decision was made for multiple reasons. Here’s why this happened, how the Deadpool 2 Juggernaut character was put together, and also how the character could return in Deadpool’s MCU debut.
Why Ryan Reynolds Voiced The Deadpool 2 Juggernaut
Reynolds revealed in the past that he voiced Juggernaut just to provide a temporary track of audio for the character. This allowed Deadpool 2 to keep Juggernaut’s appearance in the film largely under wraps, and the plan was for another actor to play the villain in the final cut. Ryan Reynolds claims that this was not possible due to the budget constraints on Deadpool 2 – but they had a moderately big budget of $110 million, so Reynolds might have been partially joking about the financial reasons for his second role. Reynolds’ temp track for Juggernaut’s voice and facial movements were used to animate a face modeled after director David Leitch.
Although the circumstances of why Ryan Reynolds played both Deadpool and Juggernaut in Deadpool 2 might be somewhat unique, it isn’t completely uncommon. Other recent examples include Benedict Cumberbatch playing Doctor Strange and voicing Dormammu in Doctor Strange, or Eddie Murphy’s multiple roles in his comedies. Should Juggernaut return in future installments of the franchise though, it will be interesting to see if Reynolds continues voicing him.
Will The Deadpool 2 Juggernaut Return?
In Deadpool 2 Juggernaut falls against the combined efforts of Colossus, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and Yukio – but despite the beating that he took, Juggernaut could still be alive to return for another X-Men or Deadpool movie. While it’s unclear what happens to Juggernaut following the events of Deadpool 2, the most likely scenario is that he’s back in the Ice Box, the mutant prison where he met and first teamed up with Russell. This presents many opportunities for future movies to stage Juggernaut’s return, which could actually happen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Everything We Know About Deadpool 3 And Juggernaut’s Future
Deadpool 3 is officially happening, and the project reunites Ryan Reynolds with Free Guy and The Adam Project director Shawn Levy, who has confirmed that production will begin sometime in 2023. Following the Doctor Strange 2 Professor X cameo, which confirms the existence of mutants in the MCU, Marvel president Kevin Feige has also confirmed that Deadpool 3 will somehow be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Should Juggernaut return for Deadpool 3 and become a regular MCU character, it’s unlikely that Reynolds will be able to pull the same trick with the Deadpool 2 Juggernaut, as the unstoppable force might have to be played by one actor throughout MCU Phase 4.
Deadpool 3 has no official release date yet, but the soonest audiences can expect its theatrical release is around the spring or summer of 2024. The upcoming movie’s plot details are still vague, and there’s no certainty that Juggernaut or any other side character from Deadpool 2 will return. However, following the incursions caused by the Doctor Strange 2 cast, there’s no telling what the multiverse has in store for Deadpool’s (and possibly Juggernaut’s) MCU debut.
- Deadpool 2 (2018)Release date: May 18, 2018
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