Fans knew Josh Brolin as MCU’s Thanos and Deadpool’s Cable, but those were not his first stint in the superhero world. The actor notably starred as DC’s western hero, Jonah Hex, in 2010, and it was a project he immensely regretted.
Brolin knew where it went wrong, and if he could redo the movie, he would make it right, given he had the budget. Moreover, the actor felt guilty for involving other stars in the project that heavily tanked at the box office.
Josh Brolin Utterly Despised Jonah Hex And Regretted Recruiting Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender
Speaking with Total Film via Games Radar, actor Josh Brolin could not help but lash out at the failure of Warner Bros’ Jonah Hex. Everything was already planned out, but the star felt he committed a grave mistake when he chose Jimmy Hayward to helm the film.
“I think it deserved that bashing for reasons that those critics will never know. We were almost ready to drop [the film] when this kid [Hayward] came up. He was an interesting young guy full of energy, and he was obsessed with Jonah Hex. I thought, ‘This is either a really bad decision or a brilliant decision.’ Really bad… If I’m ever really rich, I’ll do that movie again. Seriously.”
To add to his frustration, Brolin told Variety that he felt responsible for the waste of a great cast. He felt sorry that he involved Megan Fox and Michael Fassbender in the project knowing they deserved better.
“Everybody knows how I feel about Jonah Hex, but the biggest thing with Jonah Hex is rushing into hiring somebody. Not that I had a ton of pull then, but I brought in Megan [Fox,] who I thought was perfect for that role. And [Michael] Fassbender? One of our best actors, who had done Shame and Hunger, are you kidding me?”
In the end, Brolin still blames himself because he was responsible for choosing the person who would spearhead the movie.
“I still owe these people… So the intention was there. I just think we made a big mistake with the director — not to blame it all at him, because that was my choice, that was my bad choice.”
On top of all the mistakes, he also pointed his finger at Warner Bros. He said that the studio’s cut of the film only made it worse. Jonah Hex has been ranked #48 by Rotten Tomatoes in the list of all DC movies, earning a score of 12% and one of the worst-rated superhero films of all time.
Josh Brolin Believed A Lower Budget Could Have Made A Better Jonah Hex Movie
Josh Brolin echoed the same hatred for Jonah Hex in his conversation with Nerdist via IndieWire, claiming that if he had the production budget to film another remake, he would gladly work on it.
“I would do that movie still. If I ever had the balls to spend $5 million, which I don’t, I would do that movie because that’s the version of that movie that would have been successful, for sure. And it didn’t need to cost anything more than $8-$10 million.”
Jonah Hex spent $47 million for its production and only grossed over $11 million at the worldwide box office. Brolin believed that if he had things under control, a $5 million budget would suffice to produce a far superior movie.
