Poster and Details Revealed For Nathan Fillion's Cut Cameo In GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2
So now that Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 is out and there was no Nathan Fillion to be found, what was he supposed to do in the film? According to director James Gunn, Fillion was playing Wonder Man's alter ego Simon Williams, who was starring in a Hollywood biopic about Iron Man, entitled Tony Stark.
Basically, the joke is that the guy who is secretly Wonder Man is starring in a film about the billionaire philanthropist who everyone knows as Iron Man. Originally, this poster was supposed to be featured in a shot on Earth, but Gunn says he cut it as it slowed down the film. I would love if one day the idea is revisited and we see a trailer for Fillion pretending to be Tony Stark when he's actually Wonder Man! Wouldn't that be awesome?
Here's what Gunn had to say about it on his Facebook page:
"As many of you know one of my best friends in the world is Nathan Fillion. Along with Michael Rooker and Gregg Henry he's been in every movie I've directed - even as a monstrous, perverted voice in Guardians of the Galaxy. I didn't have a good cameo for him in Vol. 2 - and I wanted to bring him more fully into the MCU at some point, so I didn't want to make him Aakon Guard #2, narrowing his chance of a more substantial role in the future. I really do love the character of Simon Williams/Wonder Man in the comics - a sometimes douchey actor/superhero - and could see Nathan clearly in that role (not because he's a douchebag but because he's great at playing one). But, of course, in a movie set 99.9% in space I didn't really have a place for him. So in a small flash to earth I decided to put a theater playing a "Simon Williams Film Festival," with six Simon Williams movie posters outside. Obviously, from the posters, he's had a run of B movies. Most of them in themselves are Easter eggs of some sort or another. Unfortunately, the small section of the scene where they appeared slowed down the movie and I had to cut the Easter eggs from the film (along with storefronts named after comic book luminaries Starlin, Mantlos, Annett and others). Equally a bummer was that a lot of people took photos of these posters on the day so suddenly every fan site was reporting that Nathan was playing Wonder Man in he movie. He was even the third-billed actor on IMDB!
"So that's the full story. Nathan's only cameo in the movie ever were these posters. I'll post them all over the next few days.
"And, yes, I think we can consider them canon for the MCU, and I hold onto hope that Simon Williams will rise again!!"