Every Deadpool & Wolverine cameo we know so far, explained
The upcoming Deadpool 3 promises to be a dream for fans hungry for new MCU content, as the Merc with a Mouth and Weapon X finally meet. More than that, though, there’s sure to be a bunch of Deadpool & Wolverine cameos featuring heroes and villains from the MCU and the Fox X-Men properties.
Deadpool & Wolverine will mark an exciting nexus point for longtime Marvel fans as the fan-favorite X-Men franchise, which was shepherded by 20th Century Fox before it was consumed by the Disney machine, finally slams into the MCU. While mutants have been teased for a while now, it’s the addition of these specific X-Men characters that has fans excited.
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It’s expected that the upcoming Marvel movie will capitalize on the fervor of fans with a slew of cameos from the 20+ years of X-Men and Marvel movies. Though many of these cameos are shrouded in secrecy, a few have managed to slip through the cracks thanks to both comments from actors and the sheer volume of Easter eggs in Deadpool & Wolverine’s trailers.
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Before 2024’s most anticipated superhero movie hits big screens, here’s a rundown of every Deadpool 3 cameo we know so far, as well as some fuzzy math about cameos we think may be showing up.
Pyro
One of the first surprise confirmations for Deadpool & Wolverine was the return of Pyro, as played by Aaron Stanford in X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand. Pyro is seen in one trailer in a costume that skews a touch closer to his comic look, though he is notably older and appears to have been through the wringer.
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Fans last saw Pyro in a knock-down, drag-out fight with Iceman at the end of The Last Stand, where he was soundly beaten. He was among the mutants confirmed killed by Sentinels in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but it’s unclear what his fate was in the revamped X-Men movies timeline.
Lady Deathstrike
X2’s femme fatale is seen among those gathered at the corpse of Ant-Man. We only catch a glimpse of her at a distance in the trailer, but her trademark talons are unmistakable.
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Though fans last saw her filled to the brim with adamantium after a fight with Wolverine in X2: X-Men United, it’s unclear if that’s her true fate now. The events of Days of Future Past would have potentially rewritten her timeline, meaning she may never have been captured by Stryker.
Related:
Deadpool & Wolverine reshoots are happening — but there’s an exciting reason
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Azazel
Potentially Nightcrawler’s father, depending on when you’re reading the story, Azazel is a mutant who appears to be a demon. In the films, he’s a member of Sebastian Shaw’s Hellfire Club, and fights the newly assembled X-Men in the conclusion of X-Men: First Class.
Azazel is not seen again after that first movie and is confirmed to have been killed in the 1960s, before the events of Days of Future Past. Since his death would have occurred before the timeline change Wolverine caused, that would mean this Azazel is either from an earlier point in time or is a variant.
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Toad
Also spied in the second Deadpool trailer outside the corpse of Ant-Man, some variation of Toad appears to be returning. The character has had two notable but very different appearances in the films, and it’s difficult to tell which one it is in the trailer alone.
The original and most famous comes from 2000’s X-Men, portrayed by Ray Park fresh after his star-making role as Darth Maul. Though this Toad doesn’t die, he wouldn’t appear again in the modern era. A second Toad, portrayed by Evan Jonigkeit, appears in the ‘60s in Days of Future Past, though that brief appearance really feels more like a cameo itself than anything.
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Callisto
Callisto appears to be among those gathered outside of Giant-Man’s corpse as well. Calisto is the leader of the mutant outcast group, The Morlocks.
When last fans saw Callisto, she was presumably dead, having been electrocuted by Storm after the fight on Alcatraz.
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The Russian
One surprise in those gathered around Giant-Man’s corpse is The Russian. Fans will recognize the striped shirt and burly demeanor of a character last seen fighting — and dying to — Tom Jane’s Frank Castle in 2004’s The Punisher.
The presence of The Russian may actually back up one other cameo claim: that a version of The Punisher will be appearing in the film. It’s not known which version it may be, and it’s worth noting that if this is The Russian, this one clearly isn’t played by pro wrestler Kevin Nash, who portrayed him in the original appearance.
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Alioth
Cameo? Recurring threat? A hint of what’s to come in the film? Either way, Alioth from the Loki TV series makes a brief showing in the trailer.
Alioth is the living storm that guards The Void, which is where variants pruned by the TVA inevitably wind up. We’ve already seen set photos showing off Deadpool and Wolverine fighting in a world littered with Easter eggs, so is it possible the two find themselves pruned?
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X-Force
The majority of X-Force–Colossus, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Yukio, Shatterstar, Dopinder, and Peter–are seen in the trailer during Deadpool’s birthday, right before he’s whisked away by the TVA.
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Early reports have suggested these appearances are little more than cameos, tying into the team’s survival after Deadpool rewrote history in the Deadpool 2 end credits. And while X-Force, along with Blind Al and Vanessa, appear to be small appearances in the film, it’s worth noting that Cable won’t be returning for this outing.
The Avengers
Deadpool’s triumphant debut in the MCU calls for a triumphant arrangement of MCU heroes to usher him in. Fortunately, Deadpool & Wolverine was able to get the best… if only via archive footage.
Archive footage from Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor Ragnarok and Captain America: The Winter Soldier are used for the scene where Deadpool’s arrives in the TVA. However, we know the footage goes one step deeper than this. The CinemaCon trailer, which has not yet been released to the general public, reportedly includes a scene from Thor: The Dark World which is edited to feature Thor over a dying Deadpool.
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Who else could make a cameo in Deadpool 3?
Fans are getting mighty excited about rumors suggesting there is a veritable bounty of Deadpool 3 cameos, including but not limited to Elektra, Professor X, and Cyclops.
Deadpool & Wolverine is expected to feature a ton of cameos that fans haven’t seen yet, though director Shawn Levy has been adamant the story dictated the cameos and not the other way around.
Perhaps the loudest to date has been the rumored arrival of Elektra, as portrayed by Jennifer Garner in the notorious 2005 flop. Though the Elektra cameo was seemingly confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, Garner herself has cast doubt on the appearance. A further rumor indicates Ben Affleck was on set, potentially as Daredevil, but those claims have not been confirmed.
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Plenty of classic X-Men characters are naturally rumored to be appearing alongside Wolverine, as well. Patrick Stewart has spoken about wanting to appear, and the apparent presence of his wheelchair behind Cassandra Nova in one shot could back this up. Cyclops actor James Marsden may have also confirmed his cameo, if only by accident.
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There also appears to be a cameo in some form of the original Sabretooth, played by former pro wrestler Tyler Mane. Though set photos show an actor in the Sabretooth costume and a model of his head, it’s not clear if Mane himself was on set.
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One seemingly confirmed actor who is not returning, though, is Famke Janssen, who portrayed Wolverine’s unrequited love interest, Jean Grey, in the original X-Men trilogy. Janssen has made it known she’s not in the film, which does throw some water on a long-running fan theory that the Wolverine Jackman plays in this film is from a timeline where he failed to kill Jean when she was Dark Phoenix. However, she’s not ruled out a return, either.
Other, smaller cameos continue to be long-rumored, too. Most recently, Wesley Snipes as Blade was hinted at as a potential cameo by leakers.
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Of course, with all the talk of the TVA and the presence of Alioth, one can’t help but wonder if any Loki cast members will be appearing in the film. Regarding a potential Loki cameo, Hiddleston himself has been playing coy and avoiding commenting directly on a possible appearance. However, it’s worth noting that Mobius actor Owen Wilson was spotted in London while Deadpool & Wolverine was filming in the area.
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Will Taylor Swift be in Deadpool 3?
Finally, the most clandestine and hottest rumor of the bunch is the potential Deadpool 3 Taylor Swift cameo. Swift has long been rumored to appear in the film in some capacity, either as mutant singing sensation The Dazzler or Lady Deadpool, a female variant of Wade Wilson. Whether the Eras superstar is even in the film is a hotly contested secret, with many speculating that any cameo would be little more than a brief gag, similar to how Brad Pitt played The Vanisher.
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It won’t be long before we finally know about Taylor Swift, or any of the above Deadpool 3 cameos, at least. We’ll finally learn who is and isn’t appearing when Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on July 26.
In the meantime, you can read about some exciting Spider-Man 4 news, learn all about The Fantastic Four, and keep updated on all things Avengers 5.
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