Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine.
You might go into Deadpool & Wolverine expecting to see familiar faces from comic-book movies past, but the sheer specificity of its many, many cameos may still take you by surprise. Between a story that involves Marvel’s “multiverse” and the merc-with-the-mouth’s proclivity for fourth-wall breaking, the Deadpool threequel is practically tailor-made for special appearances.
These cameos include existing Marvel characters, several who starred in pre-MCU movies from other studios, and even casting rumors that will only make sense if you’re attuned to comic-book movie production news (à la Nicolas Cage’s Superman in The Flash). While their sheer variety borders on gratuitous, they also happen to lead several genuinely hilarious and meaningful moments. And since the movie is scant on coherent drama for its leads (and cuts away quickly the moment its action threatens to become cool), these surprise appearances may just be the best part of Deadpool & Wolverine, whether they’re in-jokes for the fans, or serve an actual purpose in the plot — or in some cases, both.
Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
The first cameo is a low-key one: Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan, friend and security chief to the unseen Tony Stark. This scene, set in the main Marvel universe six years in the past (while Stark was still alive), sees Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) sitting down for a job interview to become an Avenger. He gets rejected, a blow to his self-worth that ripples throughout the movie. As an everyday human with no superpowers, Happy may not be the MCU’s most glamorous character, but he’s been part of the franchise since the beginning (Favreau both appeared in and directed the original Iron Man), and his presence is a fitting way to welcome Deadpool into the Marvel fold.
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Years later, once Deadpool ends up in trouble with the Time Variance Authority (the time-keeping organization from Loki), hints that we’re now in the MCU start popping up onscreen. We see scenes from The Avengers, and one in which Thor (Chris Hemsworth) weeps over Deadpool’s dying body. That may not technically count as a new appearance, since the image recycles and manipulates existing footage (Hemsworth wasn’t even aware he was in Deadpool & Wolverine), but there’s no dearth of traditional cameos in the rest of the film.
The (back of) Hulk(’s head)
As Deadpool travels across the multiverse in search of different versions of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), he comes across one who happens to be fighting the Hulk, whom we see from behind. It’s a nice reference to Wolverine’s first-ever comic appearance, in which he battles the big green Avenger.
Henry Cavill as Wolverine
Here’s where things start to get weird. Deadpool finds a version of Wolverine played by none other than former Superman actor Henry Cavill. Like John Krasinski’s Reed Richards in the Doctor Strange sequel, Cavill’s appearance pays off years of fan art and online chatter about who should take over from Jackman when he eventually passes the torch, though given how much money Deadpool & Wolverine is about to make, that might not happen anytime soon.
Tyler Mane as Sabretooth and more X-Men baddies
Once Deadpool begins multiverse-hopping — and especially once he and Wolverine get stuck in “the void,” where characters and elements from alternate realities are sent to die — all bets are off. Nobody really needs a concrete reason to show up beyond the filmmakers deciding they should, so we get a few appearances from X-Men actors and characters of old. Tyler Mane reprises his role as the feral Sabretooth from X-Men (2000), and he’s joined by the fire-wielding Pyro (Aaron Stanford) from X2: X-Men United (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). They belong to a band of wasteland outlaws populated by other Marvel villains from 20th Century Fox films, albeit played by new actors since they happen to be “variants.” These include Toad from X-Men, Lady Deathstrike from X2, Juggernaut, Callisto, and Arclight from The Last Stand, Azazel from X-Men First Class, Psylocke from X-Men: Apocalypse, Bullseye from Daredevil, and even “The Russian” from Lionsgate’s 2004 version of The Punisher.
Chris Evans as Johnny Storm
But the first hero from a pre-MCU Marvel movie arrives in the form of a major bait and switch. A hooded figure in blue speaks in a familiar voice and reveals himself to be played by Marvel mainstay Chris Evans. As Alan Silvestri’s Avengers theme fades in on the soundtrack, Deadpool excitedly prepares for Captain America to utter his iconic rallying call: “Avengers assemble!” Except, at the last second, Evans instead yells, “Flame on!” Turns out Evans is reprising his second-most-famous comic-book role, the Human Torch, a.k.a. Johnny Storm from Fox’s Fantastic Four (2005), who takes to the sky in a literal blaze of glory.
Dafne Keen as X-23
This sets the stage for several other Marvel characters from Fox movies to appear. As teased in a recent trailer, a now adult Dafne Keen reprises her role as Laura/X-23 from Logan (2017) to give Wolverine a pep talk, which is sweet, even though this version of Wolverine has never met her before. She’s part of a group whose worlds have all been destroyed and who are now looking for ways to finish their stories — a nice meta-reference to some of their franchises being cut short or never getting off the ground to begin with.
Jennifer Garner as Elektra
The first of these characters to appear is Jennifer Garner’s sai-wielding anti-hero Elektra Natchios, from Fox’s much-maligned Daredevil (2003) and Elektra (2005). Garner’s version of the character (who has since been played by Elodie Yung on Netflix) isn’t particularly well regarded by fans, but the character’s poor reception plays into her story here as someone searching for absolution and a way to bring her story to fruition. Plus, Garner’s specific presence also yields a fun jab at ex-husband Ben Affleck, whose Daredevil is said to have died off-screen. When Deadpool offers his condolences, she quickly brushes it off with a snappy, “It’s fine.”
Wesley Snipes as Blade
Garner’s older, wiser Elektra is followed by a similarly aged-up Blade, the day-walking vampire (and vampire hunter) played by Wesley Snipes in New Line’s Blade trilogy. The actor’s graying beard adds to his panache — few superheroes have ever looked as cool in the genre’s history — but his appearance is especially surprising. Snipes famously hated working with Reynolds on Blade: Trinity, behind-the-scenes lore this film makes sure to reference. Before he heads off to battle, Snipes quips that there’s only one Blade, and there’s only going to be one Blade, a clear jab at Marvel’s reboot of the character starring Mahershala Ali, which was first announced in 2019 but has since languished in production limbo.
Channing Tatum as Gambit
And finally, Channing Tatum shows up as a surprisingly comics-accurate version of Remy LeBeau/Gambit, the character he signed on to play in an X-Men spinoff back in 2014, which was eventually shelved amid the Fox-Disney merger five years later. Tatum is perhaps the funniest part of the entire film and actually makes the case for why his solo project being canceled may have been a good thing: His attempt at the character’s Cajun accent is completely (and intentionally) incomprehensible.
Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15, Blake Lively as Lady Deadpool, and more cameos
The above are all the movie’s biggest cameos, but there are more familiar faces almost everywhere you look. Wunmi Mosaku briefly reprises her role as TVA agent Hunter B-15 from Loki, while a female version of Deadpool, long rumored to be played by Taylor Swift, is played by Reynolds’s wife, Blake Lively — or at least voiced by her (we never see her face). And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Marvel movie without the late Stan Lee, whose face can be seen in an advertisement on the side of a bus.
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