Not every comic book movie does well at the box office. Every now and then, a project will fall short of expectations. Let’s consider Josh Brolin’s Jonah Hex in 2010, which brought the renowned DC Comics cowboy to the big screen. It received majorly negative reviews and failed to recoup even a quarter of its production costs, making it one of the biggest comic book movie bombs ever.
Well, fans need not worry, as you were not the only person who did not like Jonah Hex. Josh Brolin, who played the lead, also had a difficult time making it. The actor was frank about his thoughts on the film’s flaws in one of his earlier interviews. Moreover, when choosing Jimmy Hayward to helm Jonah Hex, Brolin believed he made a mistake.
Brolin’s performance as the supervillain has been hailed as one of the greatest superhero villains of all time. However, the actor endured his fair share of lows before finding success from playing the iconic villain for years.
Was Josh Brolin’s Jonah Hex A Serious Career Mistake?
Josh Brolin, who is best known for his portrayal of Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has appeared in numerous blockbuster films, including Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Infinity War.
Brolin has received high praise from critics for playing such a wicked character (Thanos) with nuance and conveying complex layers of emotion. The acclaimed actor also penned the following in an earlier interview he gave for Variety:
“[Thanos] was a huge undertaking for me. When you have my kind of gravitas, I understand why they would go, ‘That guy could kind of bring some real weight to the purple dude’, but I didn’t get it at first. […] It was a top-notch performance.”
But not every role he has played has been successful. In Jimmy Hayward’s superhero DC film, Jonah Hex, which was released in 2010, he portrayed the title role. The actor, 55, acknowledged that the movie “deserved that bashing” in a Total Film article. According to him:
“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.’”
Additionally, Brolin said:
“I think it deserved that bashing for reasons that those critics will never know. Really bad… If I’m ever really rich, I’ll do that movie again. Seriously.”
Josh Brolin Reflected On What Went Wrong With Jonah Hex
Jimmy Hayward tried to bring the titular comic book antihero protagonist to life on the big screen with his film Jonah Hex. Unfortunately, the movie did not connect with critics or audiences, and it ultimately failed to make money at the box office.
With only $11 million in revenue compared to a $47 million budget, it was a financial failure. Critics gave it generally unfavorable reviews.
Josh Brolin, who is well-known for his exceptional work in films like No Country for Old Men and Avengers: Infinity War, admitted to Variety that he made a mistake in picking Jimmy Hayward to direct Jonah Hex:
“Everybody knows how I feel about Jonah Hex. But the biggest thing with Jonah Hex is rushing into hiring somebody. I remember Jeff Robinov, who I’m still close with, who was running Warner Brothers at the time and he was like, ‘look, you’ve got to get a director in the next two weeks, otherwise we’ve got to can this thing.’ And then you meet somebody who has a lot of knowledge, Jimmy Hayward, and I remember it didn’t feel right.”
The actor also lamented that the cast was not given a movie that was deserving of their efforts as Brolin further recalled:
“Not that I had a ton of pull then, but I brought in Megan [Fox,] who I thought was perfect for that role. Maybe not the best actress at that moment, but for that type of parody, forget it. Her, at that moment? You couldn’t do better than that. And [Michael] Fassbender? One of our best actors, who had done Shame and Hunger, are you kidding me? [John] Malkovich, who had just been ripped off by Bernie Madoff, and we’re asking him to do it for a third of his price. He said yes. I mean… I still owe these people.”
Speaking of his upcoming project, Josh Brolin will next be seen in Dune: Part Two, the epic science-fiction sequel to Dune. It is scheduled for release on March 15, 2024.
Jonah Hex is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Total Film; Variety
