Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Aaron Stanford talked about getting to work closely with Ian McKellen. The Phase Zero podcast sat down with the Pyro actor to learn about what it was like to befriend the Magneto actor. Of course, McKellen is a legend of the screen and stage. So, Stanford had a healthy respect for him long before he began shooting fire out of his hands. But, the actor also highlighted the mental bond between the two characters that helped establish this friendship in real life. As a younger performer, Stafford was eager to glean everything he could from McKellen while they shared space in this franchise.
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“You know, there wasn’t a lot of behind the scenes discussion. ‘What is Pyro and Magneto’s relationship?,’ because it was all so clearly there on the page. And, we didn’t overthink it, we didn’t overanalyze it. It was just sort of there and I think you’re 100% right that what’s so great about the movie is, it’s all gray areas,” Stanford told us. “He’s not just a bad guy, you understand where he’s coming from. You understand the hell that he went through in the Holocaust and and what turned him into what he is. I think when he sees Pyro in that moment, he sees a kindred spirit and he’s not so much manipulating him as he’s trying to pass the torch to the Next Generation.”
“So, there was all of that, and then my relationship with Ian was completely separate from that. just an absolute thrill to get to know this guy, who I had seen when he did this version of Richard the III. It’s a film, and it looks like it took place during a fictional World War II and he’s absolutely brilliant in it,” the star recalled. “I had watched this in the olden days. I watched the VHS cassette of this movie dozens of times. just in awe of his abilities. So, to be able to get to know this guy as a friend because he’s a very funny, very charming, very humble dude.To get to meet him and hang out with him on a personal level was amazing.”
Could We See Pyro Again?
One interesting thing about Deadpool & Wolverine Is who shows up and who does not. The Magneto actor doesn’t make an appearance directly in the movie. And unfortunately, Stanford’s renegade mutant doesn’t survive the end either. We had to ask if we’d ever see Pyro again in the MCU as we barrel towards Avengers: Secret Wars. With the warm response for Deadpool & Wolverine, it would seem likely that a lot of these characters could pop up in that massive crossover event down the line.
“”I honestly have no idea,” Stanford mused. “There’s no good answer to that question, it could very well be the end, it could also very easily not be the end. It’s the multiverse, so there could be several iterations of Pyro to come. Who knows? I love the character, I’ve been living with him for a very long time. It was great to start my career with him and be at this point with him. I’d obviously love to see him live on, but who knows?”
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