Every Marvel & Fox Cameo in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

Deadpool & Wolverine: Best Part? Cameos!

Written by Siddhant Adlakha, a critic and entertainment journalist from New York

Caution: This blog post includes information that reveals key plot points from Deadpool & Wolverine.

When watching Deadpool & Wolverine, you might anticipate seeing characters you recognize from previous comic book movies. However, the numerous unexpected appearances in the film might catch you off guard. With its storyline involving Marvel's "multiverse" and Deadpool's habit of breaking the fourth wall, the third installment of the Deadpool series is perfect for cameos.

The appearances of various Marvel characters in Deadpool & Wolverine range from familiar faces to those from pre-MCU movies or casting rumors that only die-hard comic book movie fans would understand (like Nicolas Cage’s Superman in The Flash). While the variety of cameos may seem excessive, they also provide some truly funny and meaningful moments in the film. With limited drama for the main characters and quick cuts away from cool action scenes, these surprise appearances might just be the highlight of the movie. Whether they're inside jokes for fans or serve a purpose in the plot, these cameos add an extra layer of enjoyment to Deadpool & Wolverine.

In a subtle appearance, Jon Favreau makes a cameo as Happy Hogan, who is a friend and head of security for Tony Stark. This scene takes place six years in the past in the main Marvel universe, when Stark was still alive. Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds, shows up for a job interview to join the Avengers but ends up getting turned down. This rejection affects him deeply throughout the movie. Happy may not have any superpowers and might not be the most glamorous character in the MCU, but he has been a part of the franchise since the beginning, as Favreau was both an actor and director in the original Iron Man film. Happy's presence in the scene is a nice way to introduce Deadpool into the Marvel universe.

Years after, Deadpool finds himself in a pickle with the Time Variance Authority, the organization that deals with time-related matters just like in Loki. As this happens, clues start appearing onscreen indicating that we are now in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We catch glimpses of scenes from The Avengers, including one where Thor (portrayed by Chris Hemsworth) mourns over Deadpool's injured body. While this may not technically be considered a new appearance since it utilizes existing footage and manipulates it (Hemsworth was not even aware of being in Deadpool & Wolverine), the film is filled with plenty of other classic cameo appearances.

As Deadpool journeys through alternate realities to find various incarnations of Wolverine (portrayed by Hugh Jackman), he encounters one engaged in a battle with the Hulk. The view of the Hulk is from the rear, reminiscent of Wolverine's initial comic debut when he faced off against the iconic green superhero.

Henry Cavill has been cast as Wolverine in a surprising turn of events. Deadpool discovers this alternate version of Wolverine, portrayed by Henry Cavill who is best known for his role as Superman. Fans have long speculated and created fan art about who would be the best successor to Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, and Cavill's appearance finally fulfills these hopes. It seems like Jackman passing the torch to a new actor may not happen anytime soon, especially with the potential success of the upcoming film Deadpool & Wolverine.

Tyler Mane returns as Sabretooth in Deadpool and meets other villains from the X-Men movies. Characters from different realities come together, like Pyro, Toad, Lady Deathstrike, Juggernaut, Callisto, and more. These villains are played by new actors as they are considered "variants" in the multiverse storyline. Other familiar faces like Azazel, Psylocke, Bullseye, and The Russian also make appearances in the wasteland outlaw group.

Chris Evans surprised fans by appearing in a hooded figure in blue in a Marvel movie. Many were expecting him to say the iconic line "Avengers assemble!" as Captain America, but instead, he shouted "Flame on!" as Johnny Storm, the Human Torch from Fantastic Four. Fans were excited to see Evans in his second-most-famous comic-book role, soaring through the sky in flames.

Dafne Keen returns as X-23, setting the scene for more Marvel characters from Fox films to make an appearance. In a recent trailer, an older Dafne Keen reprises her role as Laura/X-23 from the movie Logan (2017) to encourage Wolverine, even though this version of Wolverine has not met her before. She is part of a group whose universes have been destroyed, and they are now searching for ways to complete their stories. This nod to their franchises being cut short or never fully realized adds an interesting meta-reference.

The blog section talks about how Jennifer Garner starred as Elektra Natchios, a character known for wielding sais in the movies Daredevil (2003) and Elektra (2005). While Garner's portrayal of the character wasn't highly praised by fans, it adds depth to Elektra's story as she seeks redemption and closure. Additionally, Garner's cameo in the movie includes a humorous reference to her ex-husband Ben Affleck's character, Daredevil, who is jokingly said to have died off-screen. Despite this, Elektra responds with a nonchalant "It's fine" to Deadpool's condolences.

In the movie, Garner’s Elektra is joined by a more experienced Blade, a vampire hunter played by Wesley Snipes in New Line’s Blade trilogy. Snipes' gray beard gives him a stylish look, making him one of the most stylish superheroes in the genre's history. It's surprising to see him appear in the movie. Snipes is known for not getting along with Reynolds on the set of Blade: Trinity, a fact that this film acknowledges. Before going into battle, Snipes jokes that there's only one Blade and there will only ever be one Blade, taking a dig at Marvel's planned reboot of the character with Mahershala Ali, which was announced in 2019 but has not made much progress since then.

In the movie, Channing Tatum appears as Gambit, a character he was supposed to play in a separate X-Men movie that never happened due to a company merger. Tatum's portrayal of the character is surprisingly accurate to the comics, but the highlight is his hilariously incomprehensible Cajun accent. It's clear that maybe it was a good thing his solo project was canceled, as Tatum's performance is one of the best parts of the film.

Wunmi Mosaku plays Hunter B-15, Blake Lively appears as Lady Deadpool, and other famous actors make brief appearances in the movie. Wunmi Mosaku reprises her role from Loki as TVA agent Hunter B-15, while Blake Lively voices a female version of Deadpool. Stan Lee also makes a cameo in an advertisement on the side of a bus, as is tradition for Marvel movies.