Brett Ratner is best known for his Rush Hour series of action-comedies, but the filmmaker also took a stab at the superhero genre when he directed 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand. Recently, Vinnie Jones, who played the role of fan-favorite character Juggernaut in the movie, put Ratner on blast for cutting out many of Juggernaut's most important scenes. In a since-deleted Instagram post, Ratner laid the blame for the whole affair at the doorstep of the movie's script writers.

"For those interested with regard to @TheVinnieJones reported comments that I "dissolved and mugged off" the role of Juggernaut in X-Men: The Last Stand, is inaccurate. All I can say is, too many evil mutants too little time! Let's be honest, Mystique is easier on the eyes! In all seriousness, I shot the script I was given and I was not able to expand the role of Juggernaut as per Vinnie's request due to the extremely limited time I had to deliver the film."

"I have the utmost respect and admiration for Vinnie Jones and his talent and thought he created a memorable character. Hopefully one day we will see a stand-alone Juggernaut film starring #VinnieJones! We can watch it mask free on @disneyplus in a pub near you since there might not be any more movie theaters in the future. #ImTheJuggernautBitch #XMen #XMenTheLastStand #XmenMovies @marvel"

With that explanation, Brett Ratner has washed his hands off any blame for the way that the character of the fearsome Juggernaut, who has taken on the likes of Hulk and Thor in the comics, was reduced to the role of comic relief in X-Men: The Last Stand. His stand is in direct contradiction to what Jones had said during a recent interview that kicked off the whole controversy.

"Brett Ratner basically dissolved the character. I was in my f***ing trailer half the time. It's one of the most disappointing jobs I've been on as far as, you know, 'What am I doing here?'"

"It wasn't the same Juggernaut as I signed on for. They took his storyline away, they'd taken his character away, his dialogue. I had two big meetings with Brett about it, and he said, 'Yeah, yeah, it's coming. They're writing stuff for you as we speak' and it never f***ing happened."

Considering the movie was made a decade ago, there is little chance of getting to the bottom of who should be assigned what proportion of the blame for the less-than-stellar portrayal of Juggernaut that fans got to see in X-Men: The Last Stand. Fortunately, the character got some degree of redemption in Deadpool 2, where his appearance was much more comic-accurate, and the full strength and brutality of the unstoppable Juggernaut was finally allowed to be unleashed on the big screen in all its R-rated glory.

While Jones' return to the character is unlikely for a standalone movie as suggested by Ratner, Deadpool's Juggernaut has a much better chance of popping up at some point again, this time in the MCU. And fans know what that means. At long last, a big-screen live-action throwdown between the Hulk and the Juggernaut. This news arrives from Screenrant.