Reginald VelJohnson Reacts to His Avengers: Endgame Scene Being Cut and then Added Back In
Reginald VelJohnson is known for several fan-favorite roles throughout his career, but he recently [...]
Reginald VelJohnson is known for several fan-favorite roles throughout his career, but he recently added the now officially highest-grossing movie of all time to his resume thanks to a part in Avengers: Endgame. It almost didn't happen though, as initially his scene was cut from the final version of the film. Thankfully the movie was making a big push to overtake Avatar at the box office, so Marvel Studios gave it a boost by including several extras in a new version of the film. ComicBook.com had the chance to speak to VelJohnson all about, including how it came about, how long it took to film, and his rollercoaster ride of emotions after having it cut and then put back in.
"I didn't realize that, just heard it was the highest-grossing film," VelJohnson said. "When I was asked to do it, I went to Atlanta. Did this job, and the Russo brothers are really cool people. I want to work with them again man, they are the very best. You know, they deserve every accolade that they get. They know what they are doing."
"My agent called me and said that they were interested in me," VelJohnson said. "They wanted to call me on the phone and talk to me, so one of the ... I forgot which Russo brother it was, but he called me on the phone, we talked a bit, he was admiring my work and whatnot, and he wanted to get me to do a part, so I said, "Hell yeah, let's go do it!"
The scene in question shows VelJohnson arriving at the scene of a building on fire, but the Hulk (who is now one of the most popular heroes post-Snap) arrives and is able to save civilians in the building. That sequence actually took about a week to film, which is also why it was so unfortunate that it was cut from the first theatrical release of the movie.
"I did that part Matt, and then they said they were going to cut me out," VelJohnson said. "I was so depressed, I didn't go see the movie when it first came out, cause I was so depressed that they said I wasn't in it anymore because you know, my scene took a week to film, and I was with some good people and we did the scene and collaborated and I thought that this was going to be something good, then they said they cut me out. I was so upset man."
Then he got the call that the scene was being put back in for the new version, and he definitely saw the film then. "I refused to go see the movie, then they announced that they put the scene back in the movie and I went to see it."
Overall he enjoyed his time immensely on set, saying "I was very excited man and really happy to be involved with them, they're really good people. I enjoyed working with them."
You can check out the scene for yourself in Avengers: Endgame, which is still in theaters.