Great news for fans of the original X-Men movies: Aaron Stanford is officially back as Pyro in Deadpool 3, as revealed in the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer that dropped during the Super Bowl.
If you’re not totally remembering who Pyro is, or Aaron Stanford, we’ve got you covered. Here’s what you need to know.
Who Is Pyro in the X-Men movies?
Pyro, per his name, is a mutant who can manipulate fire. Not create fire — he uses a lighter or other means to create it — but he can control it. He starts as a (sorry) hot-headed student at Xavier’s School in X-Men, played by Alexander Burton. Naturally, he doesn’t see eye to eye with Bobby Drake, aka Iceman. Since, you know, they’re opposites.
When the character returned in X2: X-Men United, he was played by Aaron Stanford. Over the course of the movie, Pyro, whose name is John Allerdyce, accepts his mutant heritage and joins the Brotherhood with Magneto (Ian McKellan). And then he came back again in X-Men: The Last Stand as a full-on villain, though was beaten by the end by Iceman.
Who Is Aaron Stanford?
Stanford’s career actually kicked off at age 15 starring opposite Sigourney Weaver in the movie Tadpole. However, the X-Men movies kicked him into high gear. After that, he starred in a few movies, but is probably best known for his roles on Nikita, and cult favorite series 12 Monkeys.
He also appeared on Westworld, Perry Mason, Fear the Walking Dead, Star Trek: Picard, and now in Deadpool & Wolverine.
So How Does Pyro Return In Deadpool & Wolverine?
We’re going to get into speculation here, but it certainly looks like Pyro is with some sort of scavengers in a wasteland-style area. So there are two possibilities, given Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) hooks up with the Time Variance Authority (TVA) and enters the multiverse.
The first possibility is this is a Pyro from an alternate universe, possibly one in a wasteland area like in the classic series Old Man Logan, which found the characters we know and love in a blasted-out, almost dead world taken over by villains.
The other possibility is The Void, a place at the End of Time from Loki, where the detritus of the universe is sent. If Pyro is one of the characters who has been taken out of time by the TVA and essentially sent to purgatory, is it possible he’s far from the only classic X-Men movie character who will show up? Stands to reason, we may see more. We already know Jennifer Garner is back as Elektra from the Fox universe of movies. Will there be more?
Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on July 26, 2024.
