Bullet Train was originally much different, according to star Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The actor is best known for his roles across multiple comic book movies, including the titular character in Kick-Ass and its 2013 sequel, as well as Pietro Maximoff, a.k.a Quicksilver, in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Taylor-Johnson will also be making his debut as the renowned big-game hunter Sergei Kravinoff, a.k.a. Kraven the Hunter, in Sony's upcoming Spider-Man spinoff movie, and he has delivered some of his best performances outside of franchise fare, such as in Nocturnal Animals.

From director David Leitch and writer Zak Olkewicz, Bullet Train is an upcoming action-comedy starring Brad Pitt as an aging assassin who boards the titular locomotive in order to retrieve a briefcase. Based on the Japanese novel Maria Beetle by Kōtarō Isaka (which was published in English as Bullet Train), the film boasts an impressive supporting cast that includes Joey King, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Zazie Beetz, and Taylor-Johnson, who all play opposing assassins aboard the train. Based on the Bullet Train trailer, it appears to be a fun action flick designed to lure audiences out to theaters this summer, but according to one of its stars, that's not how it was originally conceived.

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During a conversation with Andrew Garfield for HERO Magazine, Taylor-Johnson revealed some surprising details about the making of Bullet Train. Originally, the film was suppressed to be a "dark, R-rated, vicious action piece," according to Taylor-Johnson, and it was only in the process of making the movie that it became a fun comedy. Read what the Bullet Train star had to say below:

Originally this thing was quite a dark, R-rated, vicious action piece, but we hammed it up and made it fun. I don’t know what happened, but it became a comedy!

Bullet Train movie pic

During the discussion, Taylor-Johnson actually credited his co-star, Brian Tyree Henry, for fostering the comedic atmosphere on the Bullet Train set, which was filmed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Henry most recently starred in Marvel's Eternals, though he has demonstrated his immense range across Godzilla vs. KongSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and the FX series Atlanta. Now, he and his co-stars will get to showcase their comedic chops on Bullet Train.

Leitch was formerly a stuntman himself and is credited with redefining the hardcore action flick genre with the John Wick series. On Bullet Train, he reportedly urged Pitt to perform 95 percent of his own stunts. All of this doesn't sound like the recipe for a comedy. In fact, the title itself evokes images of Snowpierecer. While Bullet Train may have originally had more in common with the Bong Joon-ho film, it is shaping up to be a much more fun and lighthearted time at the box office.

Next: Everything We Know About Bullet Train

Source: HERO Magazine

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