Money wasn’t the lone reason that impacted Hugo Weaving’s decision to not return as Red Skull.

Before crafting the likes of Thanos and Killmonger, who are often considered some of the top CBM villains, the MCU often struggled to get their villains right, which was apparent in their initial phases. However, the biggest exception during the cinematic giant’s early years was Red Skull, played by Hugo Weaving, who did an impeccable job playing the Hydra head.

Unfortunately, despite having a blast playing the character, Weaving didn’t return to reprise the role in Avengers: Infinity War and was replaced by The Walking Dead star Ross Marquand. Although The Matrix star has cited paycheck disputes as the reason for not returning in Infinity War and Endgame, economics doesn’t seem to be the lone reason behind his absence.

Hugo Weaving Wanted to Escape From Playing Villains

From playing Agent Smith in The Matrix to voicing Megatron in the Transformers, Hugo Weaving‘s trademark voice and slow, somber acting style have become synonymous with villainous roles. Although the actor is no stranger to taking heroic gigs, it’s the former that has been the highlight of the Aussie star’s illustrious career.

But even though the Lord of the Rings star enjoys playing villains following their complex nature, being often typecast into such roles eventually became tiresome for the actor. As a result, after Captain America: The First Avenger, Weaving was considering giving up villainous gigs for good.

He told The Guardian: “Villains are fun. But it got to the point where I thought each uber villain was going to bleed into the next. By the time I did Red Skull [the villain in Captain America], I was thinking ‘that’s enough of that’.”

However, his exhaustion from playing villains wasn’t the major reason behind his absence in Infinity War, as it also had to do with his paycheck disputes with the MCU.

MCU Wasn’t Open to Negotiations Recalled Hugo Weaving

Before resorting to Ross Marquand, Marvel initially approached the Matrix star to reprise his role in Infinity War and its sequel. But the LOTR star recalled that the MCU was offering him less money for the two Avengers flicks than he earned from working on Captain America, which was also against what they initially agreed on.

He told Time Out: “The money they offered me for ‘The Avengers’ as much less than I got for the very first one, and this was for two films. And the promise when we first signed the contracts was that the money would grow each time. They said: ‘It’s just a voice job, it’s not a big deal’. I actually found negotiating with them through my agent impossible.”

Although Weaving missed out on returning as Red Skull in the MCU again, it didn’t bother the actor, as he “didn’t really wanna do it that much”. But despite being overwhelmed by playing a plethora of villains over the years, had Marvel offered him the right amount, Weaving said that he would have done it.

Captain America: The First Avenger is available to stream on Disney+.