Ex-Metallica Bassist Jason Newsted not interested in joining Megadeth

Following Megadeth's ousting of co-founding bassist Dave Ellefson last month, fans have repeatedly suggested that former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted could change teams and partner with Megadeth.

While Newsted has been a longtime friend of Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine, the bassist has made no indication in recent years that he's interested in touring again — particularly with a metal band. In fact, in an interview given in early-2020, Newsted asserted that a nearly decade removed from his last tour, he no longer has the "physicality" to play heavy metal.

Jason's wife, Nicole Newsted, saw enough speculation over the past few weeks that she addressed the supergroup talk via Instagram on behalf of her social media-shunning husband.

"1. Jason is not joining Megadeth. [P]eace to them. Listen to metal," she began, before warning followers of possible scammers masquerading online has her husband. "2. Jason does not have social media accounts..."

Years of punishing live shows with Metallica, Voivod and Flotsam & Jetsam left Jason with injuries to his shoulders, neck and back that were addressed in a series of surgeries over the past several years.

While the bassist told the Florida Daily Post last year that he's "90-something percent" recovered, he explained that he "couldn't do the show anymore like [Metallica]."

Metallica and Megadeth are longtime rivals due to Mustaine's links to Metallica, but Ellefson himself came close to switching sides twice — including once in 1986, when Metallica ultimately hired Jason to replace the late-Cliff Burton, and again after Jason's departure from Metallica in 2001.

While Jason never came close to joining Megadeth, he's performed before with the band, including at a 2013 concert in Toronto. That's more recent than his last performance with Metallica, which came at the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2009.