Warning! This article contains spoilers for Deadpool and Wolverine. If you’ve yet to watch the movie, and don’t want to know anything that happens, turn back now!
In the run-up to Deadpool and Wolverine‘s release, director Shawn Levy explicitly told fans to expect “a lot of” cameos in the new Marvel movie – and well, he was not exaggerating.
With most of the superhero flick taking place in The Void, the location first introduced in Loki season 1, which is essentially a trash heap for anything and anyone the TVA deem unfit to remain on their timeline, the opportunities for novelty appearances were endless. Going in, we already knew that X-Men’s Pyro (Aaron Stanford), Sabretooth (Tyler Mane), and X-23 (Dafne Keen) would show up and it turns out, that was just the beginning…
“I can neither confirm nor deny any cameos in this film but I will say, in terms of characters that may or may not appear, it was always important to us that nothing in this movie feels like a gimmick,” executive producer Wendy Jacobson previously told GamesRadar+ and the Inside Total Film podcast. “Anyone showing up has a crucial story purpose or a beginning, middle, and end as a character arc. It was definitely a collaborative process of seeing who fit in and who didn’t.”
Below, we break down every Deadpool and Wolverine cameo, from who they are and who’s playing them to their context in the movie and the wider franchise. So what are you waiting for? Get scrolling…
Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan is the first unexpected character to make an appearance in Deadpool and Wolverine.
Following its gory opening, which sees Deadpool beat up a bunch of the TVA’s Minutemen with Logan’s adamantium skeleton, the film flashes back to March 2018, when Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) interviewed for a spot on the Avengers team.
“You just said you want the job because you need it. But they do the job because the people need them. You see the distinction?” Happy lectures Wade, after the Regenerating Degenerate unsuccessfully pleads his case. “What’s your superpower? Parallel parking? Sorry, I lash out when I’m nervous,” says Wade, prompting Happy to swiftly usher him out the door.
Various Avengers
If you’ve watched all of the trailers, you’ll have already known that Matthew Macfadyen’s rogue TVA agent Paradox shows footage of the Avengers to Wade in his attempt to convince him to abandon his universe and join the Sacred Timeline. Why? Well, apparently Deadpool has been “chosen for a higher purpose”, though that’s all the new movie tells us about that.
On the TVA screens, Wade marvels at clips of Cap, Hulk, and Iron Man, and is left both excited and scared by scenes of a bloodied, future version of himself being cradled by a teary-eyed Thor.
Henry Cavill as a Wolverine variant
Henry Cavill plays a variant of Wolverine in a fun, high-energy montage that sees Deadpool timeline hop in search of a Logan that can replace his universe’s. Seen only from behind initially, as he greases up a vintage motorcycle, the character eventually turns around to face the Merc with a Mouth – and reveals Cavill’s recognizable face. You can find out about the other Wolverine variants in the movie here.
Hulk
A variant of Bruce Banner, AKA the Hulk, is also glimpsed very briefly during said montage. In the scene, Deadpool remarks on the mutant’s unique tan and brown suit, identifying him as comic book artist John Byrne’s version of the character, before the X-Man releases his adamantium claws and we see the green guy, who’s standing right behind Deadpool, reflected in them.
Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/Human Torch
There are a handful of surprising guest stars in Deadpool and Wolverine, but Chris Evans popping up as Johnny Storm, AKA the Fantastic Four’s Human Torch, is arguably one of the most jaw-dropping.
After they’re sent to The Void by Paradox, the titular heroes meet Johnny, but due to his costume being covered and his face looking… well, exactly like Steve Rogers’, Deadpool assumes he’s Captain America. When an unruly-looking gang accosts them, Evans’ character squares up to them, and Deadpool convinces himself he’s going to say his iconic catchphrase. He does, just not the one he’s thinking of…
“Avengers assemble!” Wade shouts enthusiastically, as Evans’ mystery figure yells Storm’s line, “Flame on!”, catches alight, and shoots into the air.
Unfortunately for Johnny, his time on-screen is short-lived, as he’s skinned alive by Emma Corrin’s Cassandra Nova after they’re captured and taken to her base.
“That would actually be an easier sell to me than coming back as Cap,” Evans, who first played Johnny in 2005’s Fantastic Four, previously told MTV News. “You know what I mean? Cap is so precious to me. And you know, I almost don’t wanna disrupt what a beautiful experience that was. But Johnny Storm, I feel like he didn’t really get his day. That was before Marvel really found its footing. So, I loved that role and, you know, who knows.”
Tyler Mane as Sabretooth
Turns out, the group that Johnny tried to square up, too, included Wolverine’s half-brother Sabretooth.
In the scene, Hugh Jackman’s mutant takes on the X-Men villain solo, in a fight that fans have waited “decades” for, according to Deadpool himself.
Inevitably, the red leather-clad hero starts to crack wise and gently nudge at the fourth wall in his pep talk to Wolvie. He says, “It’s not gonna be easy. You shoot the double, take him down… full mount and you ground and pound until he makes no sound until he’s dead.” After Wolverine snaps back for the Merc with a Mouth to “shut the fuck up” he sheepishly replies “good luck, I’m a huge fan.”
The brawl ends with Wolverine beheading Sabretooth. Ouch.
Aaron Stanford as Pyro
This one’s hardly surprising, given that he’s been seen in almost every trailer in the run-up to Deadpool and Wolverine’s release, but it’s a cameo nevertheless, so we had to list it here.
In the new MCU movie, Aaron Stanford reprises the role of Pyro, a fire-controlling mutant from Fox’s original X-Men trilogy. Stuck in The Void [since the 20th Century Fox and Disney merger, perhaps?], Pyro has aligned himself with the dimension’s ruler Cassandra Nova. But proves he’ll stop at nothing to get back to his timeline, when he teams up with Paradox to double cross the bald baddie.
Jennifer Garner as Elektra
Not the most surprising cameo given that Jennifer Garner’s reprisal of her 2003-2005 pre-MCU Marvel heroine was announced earlier this year. As Wade and Logan get deeper and deeper into the Void, they run into a group of forgotten heroes – and Elektra is one of them. Deadpool, in true Merc with a Mouth fashion, makes a fourth wall-breaking joke about Daredevil.
Garner made her debut as Elektra, the superhuman sword-wielding assassin. in the 2003 Mark Steven Johnson-directed pic starring none other than Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock. She received her own standalone movie in 2005, with Elodie Young taking on the Elektra mantle in Netflix’s 2015 live-action Daredevil series. The Netflix series, starring Charlie Cox as the titular hero, takes place on Earth-11584, with Garner being the Elektra of Earth-701306.
Wesley Snipes as Blade
The surprise cameo that had us screaming, crying, and throwing up. Blade is the movie that put Marvel on the map back in 1998, igniting a massive interest from big studios and paving the way for films like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Fox’s X-Men franchise. Wesley Snipes plays the effortlessly cool half-human half-vampire in the original film, and joins Elektra, Gambit, and X-23 in the Void where the group is discovered by Deadpool and Wolverine.
Yes, Blade is still cool, yes he never takes those sunglasses off, and yes he repeats one of his most iconic lines while kicking ass alongside Wade and co. And Of course, what would the moment be without a fourth-wall joke alluding to Marvel’s upcoming Blade remake starring Mahershala Ali. This would make Ali the Blade of Earth-616, the MCU’s home base.
Channing Tatum as Gambit
Marvel loves a wildcard, and dare we say that wildcard was none other than Channing Tatum, Magic Mike himself, as wildly underrated X-Men member Remy LeBeau aka Gambit? He enters the scene by flicking one of his enchanted playing cards across the room – which doesn’t impress Deadpool or Wolverine very much. Logan starts drinking all of Remy’s liquor, which prompts him to use a card to shatter the bottle to pieces.
This cameo is particularly interesting for two reasons: Taylor Kitsch played the first live-action iteration of Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine back in 2009 which, of course, starred Hugh Jackman’s Logan. A standalone Gambit movie, starring Tatum as the New Orleans native, was greenlit in 2014 and ultimately canceled in 2019. We’re sure Tatum was thrilled to finally don the gloves and put on a questionable French accent.
Dafne Keen as X-23/Laura
Marvel kept this one a secret right up until the very last Deadpool and Wolverine trailer. We first met X-23 in the 2017 film Logan, when an evil corporation uses Wolverine’s blood to create human weapons in the form of mutants. X-23 is a feisty 11-year-old who inherits Logan’s claws and regenerative capabilities.
The film ends with Logan dying as he tries to save her, resulting in his tragic death (and Hugh Jackman saying he was done with the character for the foreseeable future). X-23’s cameo proves to be an important one, reminding this other multiverse Logan that there is some good in him after all – and that giving up is not an option.
Stan Lee
Now it wouldn’t be an MCU movie without a nod to Stan Lee now, would it? The late comic book writer “cameos” on an ad on the side of a bus, during the scene where Deadpool and Wolverine take on the Deadpool Corps.
Admittedly, we didn’t catch just what the poster was advertising but given that it read “Stanless Steelers”, we’d take a guess at it being the marketing for some sort of metal wholesaler?
Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15/Verity Willis
As with Keen’s appearance, Marvel “spoiled” Wunmi Mosaku’s cameo in a trailer just days before Deadpool and Wolverine’s release. The actor reprises her role as Hunter B-15 (or Verity Willis, if you’re up to date with the Disney Plus series) from Loki.
She shows up towards the end of the movie, as Paradox tries to set up his Time Ripper in a run-down subway station, and the TVA catches wind that he’s trying to go against company protocol and obliterate Wade’s universe.
After confronting the wannabe supervillain, she has him detained for attempting to use an “unsanctioned” Time Ripper, and thanks Deadpool and Wolverine for stopping Paradox and Cassandra Nova from wreaking havoc across the multiverse.
Mutant mayhem
No, your eyes didn’t deceive you. There’s not one, not two, but several exciting mutant cameos: Juggernaut, Azazel, Psylocke, Lady Deathstrike, Toad, Bullseye, and Quill. These mutants (whose actor names we do not yet know) serve as Cassandra Nova’s thugs and fight off anyone who gets close. Vinnie Jones, who played Juggernaut in X-Men: The Last Stand, reportedly turned down the cameo).
You might remember Kevin Feige said that the inclusion of mutants in Deadpool and Wolverine opens the door for a new “Mutant era” of Marvel – and we can’t wait. Our only gripe is that Juggernaut did not, in fact, say “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!” like he does in X-Men: The Last Stand.
Blake Lively as Lady Deadpool
Ever since Lady Deadpool was first glimpsed in the trailer for Deadpool and Wolverine, fans have been speculating as to who could be playing the character. The names suggested the most seemed to be pop sensation Taylor Swift or Reynolds’ real-life wife Blake Lively, and now we can confirm: it’s the latter.
She doesn’t take her mask off in the movie, but if you stick around for that inevitable post-credits sting, you’ll see Lively’s name next to the character’s in the credits… as well as another A-Lister’s… More on that below…
In the comics, Lady Deadpool is the female counterpart of the titular wisecracker, from the alternate reality Earth-3010. Find out more about her here.
Matthew McConaughey as Cowboy Deadpool
Cowboy Deadpool may only have one proper line in Deadpool and Wolverine, but that Southern drawl is unmistakable and a quick scan during the credits backed up our theory: he’s voiced by none other than Matthew McConaughey.
It was first rumored that the actor would be playing the boot-wearing gunslinger last week, when Twitter user Cosmic Circus stated outright that he had been cast in the role. His seconds-long appearance resembles Brad Pitt’s in Deadpool 2, in which the Hollywood star had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo as invisible X-Force member The Vanisher.
Deadpool and Wolverine is in UK cinemas now, and releases in the US on July 26. For more, check out our breakdown of the Marvel timeline or our roundup of everything Marvel Phase 5.
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