Pyro Star Aaron Stanford Shares Reaction to His Character’s Fate

Deadpool & Wolverine has brought back many familiar faces from 20th Century Fox’s Marvel Universe movies of the 2000s, including Aaron Stanford as John Allerdyce, the flame-bending mutant known as “Pyro.” Stanford first appeared as Pyro in X2 (2003) and returned in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). Pyro evolved into a fan favorite as a ’90s-era bad boy who defected from Xavier’s school to join Magneto’s militant mutant group. Following the soft reboot with X-Men: First Class, Stanford and many other original actors missed out on the comic book movie genre’s resurgence following the launch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In Deadpool & Wolverine, Pyro is one of the main lieutenants of Cassandra Nova (Emma Corin), the evil twin sister of Charles Xavier. She is a warlord aligned with the Time Variance Authority (TVA). In a twist, it is revealed that Pyro is actually a double agent, working for rogue TVA agent Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen). His mission is to monitor Nova and eliminate her when the time is right. Unfortunately, the plan goes awry, and Pyro meets a grim fate, with Cassandra Nova telekinetically breaking his neck.

When asked about his reaction to Pyro’s death scene, Aaron Stanford shared his thoughts. “I mean, I wasn’t surprised,” Stanford said. “You know he’s the heel in this movie… Pyro is the heel. He’s the guy that you want to get body slammed. He’s the guy that you want to see him get hurt. So no, I was not surprised at all when his neck got snapped… [and] thrown away like so much trash.”

Despite his character meeting an untimely end, Aaron Stanford’s role in Deadpool & Wolverine offered more of an arc compared to many of the other cameo actors. He arguably had a more significant presence than even bigger icons like Wesley Snipes’ Blade or Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm/Human Torch. Stanford, a consistent character actor still awaiting his big break, likely welcomed the opportunity to shoot a more extensive role in Deadpool 3 than some of the other returning veterans, making a memorable effort with his screen time.

Deadpool & Wolverine is now in theaters.