Turns out Juggernaut Was Originally in X-Men: Days of Future Past

“I’m the Juggernaut!” Well, almost.

It turns out actor Josh Helman, who plays a young William Stryker in the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, was originally set to appear in the comic adaptation as a very different, if familiar, Marvel character: the Juggernaut.

Josh Helman as Stryker in X-Men: Days of Future Past and Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut in X-Men: The Last Stand

“I originally got hired on a different role, which is no longer in the script -- it was going to be young Juggernaut,” Helman explained when IGN visited the set of the film. “So I was like, ‘Oh, s#!t. I’ve got to put on like 30 pounds!’ So I was training for like four weeks, and then I got a phone call saying, ‘Good news and bad news. Bad news first: Juggernaut’s no longer in the script. Good news: They’re having trouble with another role and they want to see you for it.’”

It’s not clear exactly what happened with the Juggernaut in terms of the script, though Helman says that the filmmakers decided to go in a different direction with “that sequence in the film.”

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No doubt this is a normal part of putting a picture like this together, particularly an X-Men movie where there are so many characters, many of whom are often in supporting or small, powers-specific roles. Maybe director Bryan Singer just decided he needed a toad-like guy instead of a strong dude at some point. Still, it worked out for Helman.

“I feel very fortunate that it worked out this way, because Stryker is an amazing character,” he says.

And besides, we’ll always have X-Men: The Last Stand’s Juggernaut.

Talk to Senior Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN at scottcollura and on Facebook.

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