Where to even begin with the Deadpool and Wolverine
cameos?
How about at the very beginning? A very good place to start.
Right off the bat, Deadpool’s first cameo is…Logan….’s
skeleton. This being a different version of the character then the one we’ll be
following for the majority of the film’s runtime, it definitely counts,
Canuckleheads!
Next up we rewind to 6 years prior to see just how Wade
Winston Wilson got to this point. After Cable’s little time-watch
gadget was repaired at the end of Deadpool 2, not only did Wade
take the opportunity to ‘clean up the timeline’ but he also hopped over
to the Marvel Cinematic Universe circa March 14 2018 (just a few
months prior to the events of Avengers: Infinity War) and had a job
interview with Jon Favreau’s Harold ‘Happy’ Hogan. This cameo is
multifaceted as not only does Favreau portray Tony Stark’s
long-suffering bodyguard and forehead of security, but he directed the
first two Iron Man movies which kicked off the MCU. But it’s a
deeper cut than you might think, as Jon Favreau also portrayed Franklin
‘Foggy’ Nelson in 2003’s Daredevil opposite Ben Affleck’s
Matt Murdock and Jennifer Garner’s Elektra Natchios. The
film was only 20th Century Fox’s second superhero movie based
on a Marvel Comic property following 2000s X-Men. Needless to
say, it was a brilliant move to include one of superhero cinema’s longest
contributors in this movie’s cast.
This next cameo was short, sweet and just a little
surprising. This time around they actually got Hugh Jackman to portray a
comic accurate Wolverine. That’s right, the 6 foot 2 actor finally got
it right after 24 years, losing some height for the role and delivering Marvel
fans a 5 foot 3 hirsute iteration of everyone’s second-favourite Canadian
killer.
While the internet has taken to calling this variant Logan
‘Glam Rock Wolverine’ thanks to his fabulous hair, obscure Broadway
musical star ‘Huge Action’ plays the one-armed extreme version of
Wolverine seen in the pages X-Men: Alpha #1 as part of the
Age of Apocalypse event where a new reality emerges when Charles
Xavier is killed by his time-travelling son, Legion. Points for
comic accuracy again and bonus points for playing ‘The Power of Love’
song from Back to the Future, too.
Appearing in a tailored white suit and eye patch in what
looks like a casino in Madripoor, we get a glimpse of a variant Logan
using the iconic ‘Patch’ identity which first debuted in the pages of Marvel
Comics Presents #9. Despite the internet’s rampant speculation this was
going to be revealed as Daniel Radcliffe based solely on a brief shot of
the character’s back from the first trailer, this was, in fact, a different
actor from different movie about magic; The Prestige star Hugh
Jackman who performs the magic trick of pulling brains out of Wade’s
skull.
Some more rapid-fire cameo Wolverine’s next, as an
older, more grizzled, rocking-in-a-rocking-chair Logan proceeds to blow Deadpool
away (and not in the good way) with a shotgun. This is likely a reference to
the ‘Old Man Logan’ storyline which started in Wolverine (Vol. 3) #66,
about an alternate future version of the character. Elements of the story have
since inspired the 2017 movie Logan and can be seen in Deadpool
and Wolverine.
Tem-Portaling to a field of bloodied skulls, Deadpool
finds a version of Wolverine nailed to an X-shaped cross. No, Jackman
wasn’t auditioning for The Passion of the Christ 2, this is a very
literally adapted depiction of the iconic cover to Uncanny X-Men #251. Wade
tells this poor variant ‘It’s not you, we’re just going in a different
direction!’ before making his exit.
Deadpool also briefly encounters a variant Wolverine
clad in the comic accurate John Byrne created brown and tan costume.
Impressed, Wade comments he thought Logan had fought the Hulk
in the costume…right before the not-so-Jolly Green Giant himself shows
up. There are three clever references jammed into this brief scene: Wolverine
first appeared in a cameo in Incredible Hulk #180 before his full
appearance in #181, The reflection of the Hulk in Wolverine’s
claws is taken directly from the cover of Incredible Hulk #340 where Logan
does indeed wear the costume and ‘Marvel Jesus’ himself, Deadpool,
begins to blurt out nearly word for word Loki’s rant from Avengers
right before being rag-dolled by the Hulk. For anyone wondering, this Hulk
resembles Mark Ruffalo’s incarnation, circa 2012’s Avengers,
fittingly.
After a beWitchering view from behind, Deadpool
identifies this next potential Wolverine recruit as ‘the whole
package’. Working on his motorcycle, we meet none other than Henry
Cavill as Logan, who is not pleased to see the ‘Merc With A Mouth’.
Wade promises to treat him ‘so much better than those shitfucks down the
street’, but ‘The Cavill-rine’ responds instead by unloading his
mighty biceps on Deadpool.
The montage ends by introducing the movie’s main Wolverine,
portrayed by fresh-faced, Australian star of stage and screen known for
his role in 1999’s Paperback Hero, Hugh Jackman. While he’s
called the ‘the worst Wolverine’ he does don the classic yellow
and blue comic costume for the first time in the character’s cinematic history.
There’s also a brief shot of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor
cradling an apparently deathly-unwell Deadpool in what appears to be
repurposed and edited footage from Thor: The Dark World. Paradox
quickly turns this off as it’s part of Wade’s ‘important future
purpose to serve’. Secret Wars teaser, perhaps?
In another brilliant example of recycled actors, our next
cameo is the surprise return of Chris Evans! Yes, it turns out that
actors who leave iconic Marvel roles end up in The Void. From
superhero landings, his way with words, to his iconic blue costume, Evans
hasn’t missed a beat, effortlessly slipping back into his role as the best
member of his team….the Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm aka The
Human Torch. Flame on!
Among the villains working for the movie’s antagonist, Cassandra
Nova, we have the return of Tyler Mane as Sabretooth from 2000’s
first X-Men movie and he’s actually given dialogue this time!
We also see a version of Toad that resembles the
character as he appeared in 2000’s X-Men portrayed by Ray Park.
It’s unclear if this is a returning Park, best known for his performance
as Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace,
though his response on social media implies it is. Either way, Toad uses
his intellect and prehensile tongue to capture Wolvie and DP. Do
you know what happens to Wolverine when he’s struck by a magnetised Sentinel
leg?
Update: Toad is portrayed by Daniel Medina Ramos, as confirmed in his Instagram.
A standout among Cassandra Nova’s army in the Void
is Aaron Stanford, marking his return to the role of Pyro for the
first time since X2: X-Men United and X-Men 3: The Last Stand.
It’s also nice to see him in a more comic book inspired costume this time
around.
The chunky X-Men villain The Blob returns to
our screens, this time portrayed by independent wrestler Mike Waters
also known as ‘Bulk’ of the UK Pitbulls, following in the
footsteps of Kevin Durand in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Gustav
Claude Ouimet in an (ironically) small appearance from X-Men: Apocalypse.
Waters said in an interview he got the role because he is ‘naturally fat’.
It’s basically the part I was born to play.’
We get out second skeletal cameo of the film, with the
return of everyman hero and immortal funny man, Paul Rudd….’s
dead body. Yes, everyone’s seen from the trailers that Cassandra Nova’s
base of operations is, in fact, the massive remains of Giant-Man. Deadpool
quips ‘Paul Rudd’s finally aged’ but he still looks
gorgeous! This may or may not be the remains of one of the Ant-Men seen expiring
in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. A Giant-Man corpse also
appears in the original Old Man Logan story, so this is another direct
reference.
Billy Clements takes on the role of ‘The Russian,’
the red and white striped hitman sent to kill Thomas Jane’s version of Frank
Castle in the 2004 movie, The Punisher. The role was
originally filled by professional wrestler Kevin Nash. There are various
returning minor antagonists portrayed by new actors in this film, including…
The red demonic teleporting mutant called Azazel,
seen on-screen portrayed by Jason Flemying in X-Men: First Class
and stated to have died off-screen in X-Men: Days of Future Past is here
apparently played by an uncredited actor, recently identified as Eduardo
Gago Muñoz.
The same is true for new but visually similar cameo versions
of Lady Deathstrike (formerly played by Kelly Hu in X2: X-Men
United, here played by Jade Lye), Callisto (previously played
by Dania Ramirez in X-Men: The Last Stand, here by Chloe
Kibble), Bullseye with forehead markings (played brilliantly by Colin
Farrell in the 2003 Daredevil movie, here played by Curtis
Rowland Small),and a Psylocke (portrayed here by Ayesha Hussain,
previously played by Mei Melançon in X-Men: The Last Stand and
later to visual perfection by Olivia Munn in X-Men: Apocalypse-I
hope she’s winning her battle with cancer). No jokes here.
Sorry, can't find any pictures of Ayesha HussainAyesha Hussain as Psylocke yet. |
Finally, there are cameos from new versions of Quill,
previously portrayed by Ken Leung in X-Men: The Last Stand with a
female version here played by Nilly Cetin, and Archlight once
portrayed by Omahyra Mota now brought to the screen by Jessica Walker.
A new Juggernaut variant appears, now played by Aaron W.
Reed wearing a helmet and costume very similar to the version worn by Vinnie
Jones in X-Men : The Last Stand. Counting Deadpool 2’s
surprise third act reveal of Juggernaut, voiced by Ryan Reynolds
and modelled on director David Leitch, Reed is now the third Juggernaut
to appear on the big screen. I hope he doesn’t let it go to his head, it could
prove to be his Achilles heel. 😉
Alioth, the massive smoke monster that devours
everyone who gets cast into The Void (as we learned -and Deadpool
recalls- from Loki Season One, Episode Five) returns to collect the rent
i.e. Logan and Wade. CGI? Yes! Cameo? Yes! Rent? No!
Perhaps the greatest and most adorable cameo of any movie
ever: Peggy the Dog, winner of the Britain’s Ugliest Dog Award
makes her big screen debut as Mary Puppins aka Dogpool. And she’s
a good girl, yes she is! Yes she is!
irresponsible pet owner and all around negligent nice guy, Nicepool
shows up, portrayed by [checks notes] Ryan Reynolds identical twin
brother, Gordon Reynolds. Huh. Okay. Looks just like him, aye? Deadpool
covets both Nicepool’s twin golden guns and Mary Puppins, though
I doubt this subplot will lead to anything. Nicepool does mention Lady Deadpool,
who recently had a Babypool and still looks incredible. Moving on!
Meeting the resistance members out in the borderlands, Logan
and Wade are introduced to some mighty impressive returning actors and
one who never got the chance. Making her return as Elektra Natchios and
rocking a new costume reminiscent of both her previous on-screen outfits we
have Jennifer Garner back for the first time in nearly twenty years!
Next up we have the grandaddy of modern comic book movies, Blade
himself, Mr Wesley Snipes, looking as sharp as ever. Blade
states he doesn’t like Reynold’s Deadpool, who responds ‘You
never did’. This is a biting reference to Snipes and Reynolds
reported on-set feud during the production of Blade: Trinity where Reynolds
portrayed Hannibal King, his first comic book role.
Following this, Channing Tatum makes his on-screen
debut as Remy LeBeau aka Gambit, a role he has pursued since
being unavailable to play the character in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
His dream was seemingly snuffed out when Fox was bought out by Disney,
hence some references to the character feeling like he’d always been in The
Void and the world never learned about him.
Deadpool and Wolverine were brought to the
resistance by none other than X-23 now called Laura, the cloned
daughter of Wolverine in 2017’s Logan played again by Dafne
Keen. I’d make a joke here but it’s just a nice feeling seeing the
character again, alive and grown up.
Considering the Time Variance Authority play a big
part in the plot, it’s nice to see B-15 return and still portrayed by Wunmi
Mosaku, who seems to be in a more senior position since the end of Loki
Season Two.
We are on the home stretch now, folks! A whole Deadpool
Corps shows up led by Lady Deadpool (voiced by Reynolds wife
and fellow actor Blake Lively) alongside Headpool (with the
disembodied voice of Nathan Fillion), The Deadpool Kid aka Cowboypool
(voiced by Mathew McConaughey, alright, alright, alright), Babypool
(Reynolds and Lively’s youngest, Ollin Reynolds), Kidpool
(Inez Reynolds, making this a whole family affair).
In addition, we also have Reynold’s team Wrexham
A.F.C. player Paul Mullin portraying ‘Welshpool’, Ryan
Reynolds’ stunt double Alex Kyshkovych plays Canadapool and
an unidentified actor portrays Scottishpool. There are several more Deadpool
variants amid the Deadpool Corps including Deadpool 2099, Watari
aka The Fool, Golden Age Deadpool, Zenpool, a Pirate
Deadpool and apparently a Welsh Knightpool. Oh, and according to the
credits, dancing Nick Pauley performs Deadpool’s opening dance
moves, being billed as ‘Dancepool’.
During the ruckus there is a cameo from the late, great Stan
‘The Man’ Lee via a poster on the side of a bus which includes his birth
year of 1922. This means all three Deadpool movies have paid
tribute to Marvel’s most iconic creator.
Saving the best for last, ‘Peterpool’ aka Wade’s
friend Peter arrives to save the day, being a constant in all the Deadpool’s
realities, they are all happy to see him. With his big dick energy, Peter
helps convinces B-15 that Deadpool belongs in this reality.
Those were all the cameos we spotted in Deadpool and
Wolverine. If there’s any we missed, leave a comment and call us idiots for
missing some obscure, blurry figure in the background of a scene. Go on, we
dare you, nerds!