Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine.
Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy has unpacked some of the wildest cameos in the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.
The superhero blockbuster is chock full of cameos, including several from the Fox era of X-Men and Marvel movies. Levy told Variety that every surprise casting in the film came down to Ryan Reynolds or himself directly reaching out to the actor. "It literally was us asking and invariably people saying 'yes,'" he revealed.
Among those actors was Wesley Snipes, who unexpectedly returned as Blade in Deadpool & Wolverine. Reynolds was keen to give Snipes another stab at the stake to prove his Daywalker days were not over by reminding audiences of the actor's iconic portrayal of the half-vampire, half-mortal man.
"We wanted to explore themes of legacy, characters and their endings," Levy asserted. "Ryan had said, 'Blade never really got that moment, and I think people don't even realize how much they miss Wesley Snipes as Blade until they see him. Let's give them that feeling.' So, Ryan reached out to Wesley.
"Wesley has not played Blade in a long time. He and Ryan have not been in close touch in a very long time. But we made clear to Wesley that this was not going for a joke. This was out of reverence for his legacy as this iconic character."
Reynolds has since called for Snipes' classic Marvel movie hero to get a send-off film akin to Hugh Jackman's Logan because he thinks he deserves more time on the big screen, much like Channing Tatum, who finally got to play Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine (a role he previously got cast in but never actually got to play).
"I am obsessed with Channing as Gambit in this movie," Levy said. "What went into this, first and foremost, is a decade of Channing wanting to play this part and a decade of Channing almost playing this part at Fox. I know this personally because back in those years, I was one of 25 different directors who met with Channing about directing the Fox Gambit movie, and yet it never quite happened. So when we decided to have Gambit in this movie, we knew it would be deeply gratifying for Channing."
Tatum shared a social media post to show his appreciation for his MCU debut shortly after the film hit theaters. The actor posted two near-identical photos of him and Reynolds standing side-by-side at San Diego Comic-Con, taken nearly 10 years apart, and thanked his co-star for making the cameo happen.
Alongside all the new and returning heroes, Deadpool & Wolverine features several Wolverine Variants, who are played by Hugh Jackman — except for one that is portrayed by Henry Cavill. The actor apparently saw the funny side of jumping from DC (where he has ended his tenure as Superman) for a brief stint at Marvel.
"If we're going to talk about him, we must call him by his actual credited name, the Cavillerine, which Ryan coined," Levy asserted. "I knew it was undeniable as soon as Ryan came up with that term. He said 'yes' right away because he knew it would be subversive and playful. It was also with a lot of affection for him and his body of work, and playing with his legacy as a DC hero now that he's appearing as a variant of a Marvel hero."
Other guest appearances in Deadpool & Wolverine include the likes of Jennifer Garner's Elektra, Chris Evans' Johnny Storm and Dafne Keen as a grown-up X-23. Taylor Swift, however, does not show up as Dazzler, Ladypool or any other character despite rampant speculation, which Levy admits "came out of nowhere."
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.
