Between all of the unexpected cameos and returning fan faves, you might have noticed one name missing from the Deadpool & Wolverine cast: T.J. Miller.
With Deadpool‘s anticipated introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, all attention has been on Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth and his team-up with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.
The Deadpool 3 release date marks the beginning of the MCU’s mutant era after Disney took over 20th Century Fox. There are plenty of exciting cameos alongside the duo, as well as the debut of X-Men villain Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin).
But what about T.J. Miller? He played a role in the first two Deadpool movies, so you might be wondering why he’s not on the cast list. Warning: some may find this content distressing.
T.J. Miller’s Deadpool character explained
Miller portrayed Jack Hammer, aka Weasel, in Tim Miller’s 2016 Deadpool and David Leitch’s 2018 sequel, Deadpool 2.
Weasel is a bartender at Sister Margaret’s School for Wayward Children, a safe haven for mercenaries. He’s depicted as Wade Wilson’s best friend, even convincing him to become a superhero known as Deadpool.
Miller’s character is known for his sarcastic humor and loyalty to Wade, helping him navigate the merc world while contributing to the irreverent tone of the films.
In Deadpool 2, Weasel helped Wade to hold auditions for the X-Force team, continuing to serve as his friend and informant. Although the character is still alive by the end of the sequel, he doesn’t appear in Deadpool and Wolverine.
Miller faced sexual assault allegations
In December 2017, months after Deadpool 2 started filming and amid the #MeToo movement, The Daily Beast published an article containing allegations from a woman who claimed Miller hit and sexually assaulted her in college.
“He just tried a lot of things without asking me, and at no point asked me if I was all right,” the woman told the outlet. “He choke[d] me, and I kept staring at his face hoping he would see that I was afraid and [that he] would stop… I couldn’t say anything.”
In one incident, she accused Miller of “shaking me violently” and said he punched her in the mouth, leaving her with a fractured tooth and a bloodied lip.
I was harassed by both Tj Miller and the director Jordan Vogt-Roberts shooting for Comedy Central’s Mash Up. I’ve been saying Tj was an asshole for years. So there you go.
— Dana DeArmond (@danadearmond) December 19, 2017
In addition to the accusations that were reported to have been addressed at the George Washington University student court, a number of former attendees corroborated the woman’s story in The Daily Beast.
Although Miller denied the allegations, DreamWorks Animation removed him from How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, with Justin Rupple overdubbing his lines as Tuffnut.
The day after the report was published, adult film star Dana DeArmond spoke out against Miller and Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts.
Taking to X/Twitter, she wrote, “I was harassed by both T.J. Miller and the director Jordan Vogt-Roberts shooting for Comedy Central’s Mash Up. I’ve been saying T.J. was an as*hole for years. So there you go.”
Additional controversies explained
Alongside the sexual assault claims, Miller faced backlash after critic Danielle Solzman accused him of sending her a transphobic email in 2017. The following year, he was arrested for allegedly making a false bomb threat, although the charges were later dropped.
The email incident unfolded when Solzman, a trans woman, wrote to Miller with a short email pointing out the offensive term “Tranny Dumpster Sex” embedded in his website’s metadata.
In a now-deleted post, she shared his response on X/Twitter before verifying the email with media outlets, in which Miller wrote, “You have merely confirmed what I always knew.
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“This pursuit of transgender identity is nothing more than an opportunity for you to distinguish yourself as someone who is special, but what is really special is how r*tarded it is that you would ever think to attack me or say that I’ve been offensive.”
The comedian went on to refer to Danielle as “Daniel,” writing, “You’re not a transgender, you’re not a tranny – you’re a f*cking as*hole Daniel.”
Miller faced another significant controversy in April 2018 when he was arrested in New York on charges related to calling in a fake bomb threat on an Amtrak train.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, Miller had called 911 while on Amtrak Train 2256, alleging that a female passenger “had a bomb in her bag.”
Officials stopped and evacuated the train, but the bomb squad found no evidence of explosives. As well as changing his description of the woman, the investigators found Miller had actually been on Amtrak Train 2258 and detected slurring in his voice.
A fellow first-class passenger later told the authorities that Miller had been “intoxicated” and was removed from the train as a result. Following postponements, the cases against Miller were dropped in 2021.
What Miller said about Reynolds
In 2022, Miller appeared on the Adam Carolla Show podcast where he claimed he wouldn’t have starred in Deadpool 3 even if he’d been asked, accusing Reynolds of being “horrifically mean” and “insecure.”
“Would I work with him [Reynolds] again? No, I would not work with him again,” he said, adding, “But I’ve said that about Michael Bay, and now we’re friends, and I would work with him again. But I think Michael Bay is different.”
When asked if he’s close to Reynolds, Miller replied, “I got along with him a lot better on the first Deadpool because he wasn’t a huge, huge movie star,” suggesting he’d changed due to his success.
The comedian went on to state, “We had a really weird moment on Deadpool where he said, ‘Let’s do one more take.’ And then as the character, he was horrifically mean to me as if I’m Weasel.
“So he was like, ‘You know what’s great about you, Weasel? You’re not the star, but you do just enough exposition so that it’s funny, and then we can leave and get back to the real movie.’”
He later described Reynolds as “kind of an insecure dude,” adding, “I would not have done Deadpool 3 if they came to me and were like, ‘We want you to do Deadpool 3, and we’re going to pay you twice as much.’”
Miller continued, “I think he should make a Deadpool 3 and continue to make movies. I just think he doesn’t like me, and I thought it was weird how he expressed that. I’m at a place in my life where I don’t need to do Deadpool 3.”
In a follow-up interview on the Jim Norton & Sam Roberts Show, Miller claimed he and Reynolds had cleared the air, stating, “It was really cool, he emailed me the next day. It was a misunderstanding, so I emailed him back and now it’s, like, fine.”
What is he doing now?
According to his website, Miller is still performing as a stand-up comedian and is currently on The Gentle Giant Tour.
His comedy podcast Cashing in with T.J. Miller was also active until February 2024, but has since gone on a hiatus. As for acting, his last performance was a voice acting role in F is for Family in 2021.
Deadpool & Wolverine is in cinemas now. For more, check out our four-star review, every Deadpool & Wolverine Easter egg, and our breakdown of the ending. You can also read more about Lady Deadpool.