Josh Brolin's Only Comic Book Movie Failure Was A Flop Of Epic Proportions
Josh Brolin has, alongside Karl Urban, become a mainstay in comic book movies, best exemplified by his role as Thanos in "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Endgame." Brolin also appeared as the time-traveling Cable in "Deadpool 2." However, not every comic book movie Brolin has been attached to carries that same quality.
In 2010, Warner Bros. dug deep into the DC Comics library and adapted "Jonah Hex." Brolin portrayed the titular character, a Confederate soldier turned disfigured bounty hunter seeking to avenge the brutal murder of his family. Brolin fits perfectly into the archetype that Hex embodies, the gruff, lonesome warrior type. However, the movie bombed spectacularly, failing critically and commercially, drawing only $11 million against its $47 million budget.
"Jonah Hex" carries an 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience score only rising up to a mere 20%. Shuttered UK newspaper, News of the World, described it as "Jonah Sux." Others criticized the story, calling it "convoluted," but Brolin's acting was still praised. One review praising the acting still classified "Jonah Hex" as an "irredeemable, turd of a film."
Jonah Hex sounds like it was a nightmare to work on
Even Josh Brolin has said that he wasn't a fan of "Jonah Hex' at all. In a 2008 interview with MTV, Brolin said that the script was "awful." He changed his mind once he saw it as a more tongue-in-cheek movie, but also stated that, "maybe the thing to do is to do the most awful movie I can find." Brolin wasn't the only big name to sign on for this "awful" project, as Megan Fox, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett, and John Malkovich (as the villain) all appear alongside him.
"Jonah Hex," despite coming out a mess, was in development for several years. Reports date back to 2000, when a TV adaptation was planned. Once the ball started rolling on the film itself, the directors stepped down over creative differences. Brolin has also told the story of how they had to reshoot a huge portion of the film in just 12 days.
Brolin's time on comic book movies has also extended into some real deep cuts. Based on the '90s comics, "Men in Black 3" sees him play a younger Agent K, originally played by Tommy Lee Jones. He also starred in Spike Lee's poorly received "Old Boy" remake, with the original Korean movie being based on a Japanese manga of the same name.