Did Deadpool and Wolverine make a mistake with this villain from The Punisher? Kevin Nash speaks out on being recast as The Russian in one of Marvel’s biggest films.
Deadpool and Wolverine was chock-full of recognizable cameos. However, it had just as many that went over fans heads. One of the biggest was Marvel bringing back The Russian, who served as the villain in The Punisher with Thomas Jane. For those who may not have caught the villain, he was the bearded member of Cassandra Nova’s army in a striped shirt.
The Russian is a sleeper favorite Marvel villain. While The Punisher films have had their issues, the villain of each installment was at least enough to keep the projects from being forgettable. It only made sense to bring one of them back for Deadpool and Wolverine. Yet it seems the studio didn’t want to shell out the cash to get the character’s original actor Kevin Nash back for the crossover.
Kevin Nash Reacts To Being Recast As The Russian
For those unaware, Billy Clements took on the role of The Russian in Deadpool and Wolverine, whereas the character was originally played by WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash. When asked about his iconic villain being recast, Nash poked fun at Marvel for getting a replacement that looked nothing like how he did in The Punisher.
“That looks nothing like the character I played,” Nash explained in a recent episode of the Kliq This podcast. “That looks nothing like The Russian. It looks like they gave somebody a favour.”
It’s unclear why Marvel decided to recast The Russian for Deadpool and Wolverine, especially since so many other actors were brought back to reprise their roles. Perhaps the idea that the studio didn’t want to pay for such a large name to appear in such a small role holds true. Regardless, it’s a shame Kevin Nash didn’t get his chance to return to the big screen in one of his most beloved roles.
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