The top-grossing superhero movie of 2024 contains plenty of cameos and Easter eggs. Here are some of the most memorable ones.
Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) first shared the screen in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Many fans and Reynolds himself considered the movie’s portrayal of the foul-mouthed anti-hero to be a botched version of his character, and he finally got a do-over with 2016’s Deadpool.
The reunion of Deadpool and Wolverine has been a long time coming, especially given Jackman’s apparent retirement from playing Wolverine after 2017’s Logan. As such, Deadpool & Wolverine provides terrific fan service just by delivering on that. However, there’s much more in store, with the movie featuring surprise appearances from various Marvel characters, including ones that fans thought they would never see again. Here are 10 of the biggest such appearances to look out for in Deadpool & Wolverine — spoilers ahead!
#1 Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau)
The first cameo on this list could be more exciting, but it is significant. In an early scene, Wade has an interview with Happy Hogan, the head of security at Stark Industries and Tony Stark’s former right-hand man. Happy rejects Wade’s application to join the Avengers. The scene was originally written to also include Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, but he turned down the offer. It has now emerged that Downey was working on returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Doctor Doom and appearing in Deadpool & Wolverine as Tony would have conflicted with that.
Favreau’s appearance acknowledges not just his onscreen role. As the director of the first two Iron Man movies, he is also one of the key creative figures in getting the MCU off the ground. Happy’s office is decorated with memorabilia referencing Iron Man and other MCU movies, including a copy of Forbes magazine featuring Stark Industries CEO and Tony’s wife, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).
#2 Wolverine variants
Deadpool traipses through the Multiverse to recruit a version of Wolverine to join him on his mission. Before he ends up with the Wolverine with whom we spend most of the film, he meets other variants based on the character’s memorable appearances in the comics. These include the wild-haired Weapon Omega from the Age of Apocalypse storyline; Patch, who wears a white suit and an eyepatch; Old Man Logan, in a cowboy hat with a grey beard; a Wolverine in a brown and tan suit who fights the Hulk; a Wolverine crucified on a large X atop a mountain of skulls from the Fever Dream storyline; and a short Wolverine, a nod to common criticisms that Jackman is taller than the character is usually drawn.
#3 The Cavillrine (Henry Cavill)
All the abovementioned Wolverine variants are portrayed by Hugh Jackman (with the help of body double Luke Bennett for short Wolverine), apart from one: Henry Cavill makes a surprise appearance as a Wolverine variant, first seen working on a motorcycle from behind. He even ‘reloads his arms’ as in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, flicking them downwards to pop his claws. Deadpool tells him, “We’ll treat you so much better than those [expletives] from down the street,” a not-so-veiled reference to Cavill’s tumultuous tenure playing Superman at DC Studios/Warner Bros. The post-credits scene of Black Adam teased future appearances in the DC Extended Universe from him, but any plans were scrapped, and David Corenswet will replace Cavill in the rebooted DC Universe.
#4 Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Chris Evans)
Time Variance Authority official Mr Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) sends Deadpool and Wolverine to the Void. This is where characters get exiled to when they are removed from their timelines. We meet a bearded man in a blue superhero costume who is played by Chris Evans. Deadpool, a fan of Captain America, assumes that this is indeed Cap himself, whom Evans portrayed in the MCU from 2011 to 2019. The twist is that it’s Johnny Storm/Human Torch from the Fantastic Four instead, whom Evans played before getting cast as Captain America. “I got to revisit a character that I love dearly,” Evans tells Country Living. “This was a fun way to play outside the boundaries and colour outside the lines a bit. We had such a good time, and it was such a beautiful experience.”
#5 Assorted mutants
Populating the Void are several characters from earlier X-Men and other Marvel movies. including The Punisher and Daredevil. The main ones are Victor Creed/Sabretooth (Tyler Mane) and St. John Allerdyce/Pyro (Aaron Stanford), with both Mane and Stanford reprising their roles. Other characters seen in the background at the villainous Cassandra Nova’s (Emma Corrin) compound include Cain Marko/Juggernaut (Aaron W. Reed), Fred Dukes/Blob (Mike Waters), Ivan Dragovsky/the Russian (Billy Clements), Azazel (Eduardo Gago Muñoz), Yuriko Oyama/Lady Deathstrike (Jade Lye), Betsy Braddock/Psylocke (Ayesha Hussain), Mortimer Toynbee/Toad (Daniel Medina Ramos), and Bullseye (Curtis Rowland Small).
#6 Laura/X-23 (Dafne Keen)
Dafne Keen played Laura/X-23, a genetically modified clone of Wolverine, in Logan, and here, she revisits the role. Laura bonds with a different version of Wolverine after the one she had known died at the end of Logan. The relationship between Laura and Logan offers glimmers of emotional sincerity in the madcap, reference-heavy movie. “There’s this sense of Laura and Logan being the only people that can save each other. They’re kindred spirits. They have this beautiful, unspoken bond,” Keen tells Esquire. “It was so lovely to revisit that and get to play with that again.”
#7 Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner)
Jennifer Garner played the assassin Elektra Natchios in 2003’s Daredevil and 2005’s spinoff Elektra. The poor critical and financial performance of Elektra meant that it was unlikely that Garner would reprise the role. Director Shawn Levy and Reynolds brought up the idea of Garner returning as Elektra while collaborating on the set of The Adam Project. “I didn’t know that Elektra and I needed an ending, but Shawn and Ryan did,” Garner writes on Instagram.
#8 Eric Brooks/Blade (Wesley Snipes)
Arguably, the biggest surprise appearance in the movie is Wesley Snipes as Blade, the human-vampire hybrid and ‘Daywalker’. The first Blade movie from 1998 is often credited with launching the current era of superhero movies, pre-dating 2000’s X-Men and 2002’s Spider-Man. Snipes played Blade in two more films; the third and final movie in the Blade trilogy, Blade: Trinity, introduced Ryan Reynolds as Hannibal King.
A Blade movie within the MCU starring Mahershala Ali has been mired in developmental troubles for years since its announcement in 2019. In Deadpool & Wolverine, Blade quips, “There’s only been one Blade. There’s only ever gonna be one Blade,” seemingly referencing both the Ali-led not-yet-made Blade and the short-lived Blade TV series starring rapper Sticky Fingaz.
“I did not think it was possible,” Snipes tells Entertainment Weekly about returning to the role. “I didn’t think we would be able to pull it off. I didn’t think that Marvel was into it, Disney was into it … [Reynolds] told me the idea … They said ‘yes’, and ‘it’s a go. If you’re in, we’re in.’ Here we are.”
#9 Remy LeBeau/Gambit (Channing Tatum)
Rounding out the team of characters in the Void who form a resistance against Cassandra is Gambit, a fan-favourite X-Men character. A classic loveable rogue type, Gambit can charge objects with kinetic energy, turning them into deadly projectiles — he most often does this with playing cards.
Taylor Kitsch played the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The role was recast with Channing Tatum, who was announced in 2014 as playing Gambit in a spinoff movie. The project went through several directors before its official cancellation in 2019.
“I thought I had lost Gambit forever. But [Reynolds] fought for me and Gambit,” Tatum writes on X. “I will owe him probably forever.” The character’s nigh-unintelligible Cajun accent, which Tatum plays to the hilt, has earned him many fans.
#10 The Deadpool Corps
Deadpool and Wolverine face off against the Deadpool Corps, a team of assorted Deadpools from alternate universes. In the movie, the team is led by Wanda Wilson/Lady Deadpool, played by Reynolds’ real-life wife, Blake Lively. Reynolds’ and Lively’s kids, Inez and Olin, appear as Kidpool and Babypool, respectively, making it a family affair. Other Deadpool variants comprising the Corps include Headpool (Nathan Fillion), Cowboypool/the Deadpool Kid (Matthew McConaughey), Welshpool (Wrexham AFC footballer Paul Mullin), and Canadapool (Reynolds’ stunt double Alex Kyshkovych).
Reynolds also plays ‘Nicepool’, a none-too-bright and optimistic variant of Deadpool. Nicepool’s dog, Mary Puppins/Dogpool, is played by Peggy, a Pug and Chinese Crested cross who was crowned ‘Britain’s Ugliest Dog’ in 2023. There is also a Greatest Showman Deadpool, referencing the musical movie starring Jackman. A snippet of “The Greatest Show” from that film can also be heard on the car radio earlier in the movie.
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Marvel Studios presents their most significant mistake yet. His days as Deadpool behind him, a listless Wade Wilson toils away in civilian life...
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