Summary
- Deadpool & Wolverine brings back beloved Marvel heroes from outside the MCU, giving them a chance to shine.
- Expect old favorites like Elektra, X-23, Blade, Gambit, and even the Hulk making appearances in the film.
- The movie is a love letter to early 2000s Marvel movies, with surprises like Lady Deadpool and Kidpool in the mix.
This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Deadpool & WolverineAfter what felt like forever, Deadpool & Wolverine has finally arrived in theaters. The highly anticipated superhero movie sees Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool team up with Wolverine, with Hugh Jackman reprising his legendary role. The presence of Jackman’s Wolverine and the knowledge that the movie would involve the Time Variance Authority from Loki had many fans hoping for multiple multiversal cameos. While the marketing teased Cassandra Nova and her army, which consisted of various hench villains from the 20th Century Fox X-Men films, like Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans expected that this was done to draw attention away from the big reveals of former Marvel heroes from before the MCU reprising their roles in the multiverse adventure.
Deadpool & Wolverine is a movie that pays tribute to the early 2000s era of Marvel superhero movies, ones that predate and are made outside the MCU. These roles are not mere cameos but supporting characters in the film’s second act, which resides in The Void. The heroes share the fact that they are Marvel heroes from outside the MCU but also ones whose stories were cut short. The commentary here is that they have been cast out by the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, but in Deadpool & Wolverine, they are given another chance at the spotlight. Here is every major Marvel character in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Elektra
Jennifer Garner reprises her role as Elektra from 2003’s Daredevil and 2005’s Elektra. Garner’s involvement should not come as a surprise, as The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that she would reprise her role in the film in July 2023. Despite that, Marvel Studios never showed Elektra in any of the promotional material for the film or even seemed to officially acknowledge her as part of the press release in the hope of making her reveal a surprise.
Redemption in the Eyes of the Public
Garner’s Elektra is one of the last surviving members of the resistance heroes living in the Void, and she appears to be the group’s de facto leader. She is wearing an outfit that appears to mix the style of her 2003 Daredevil uniform with a darker red like her comic book counterpart and the one she wore in her 2005 solo film.
While she is not shown at the end of the film, it is implied she has returned to her universe, one that likely is without Daredevil (Ben Affleck) since he is said to have died fighting Cassandra Nova. The 2005 Elektra is often seen as one of the worst superhero movies ever, but Garner herself was never the problem, and it is certainly nice to see her get the spotlight one last time as for much younger Gen-X’s and older millennials, she was their first introduction to the character.
X-23
Laura, aka X-23, played by Dafne Keen, is a character that Marvel Studios revealed was going to be in the movie just a week before it opened with the final trailer. While this certainly frustrated fans who would have likely preferred to have it revealed in the film like many of the other cameos, it certainly wasn’t the biggest reveal for the film. The film points out that this Laura is the same one from Logan, a few years older, not a variant like the film’s Wolverine.
Laura Gets Her Happy Ending
Laura plays a major role in the film as she is the one who cuts off Juggernaut’s head to get the helmet the heroes need to block Cassandra Nova’s psychic attacks. The film’s final scene shows Laura sitting with this variant Wolverine, who has taken residence in Earth-10005, the reality designated for the 20th Century Fox X-Men films. While Laura’s Wolverine is still dead following the events of Logan, she gets a new chance with this variant, and they both can have a happy ending they previously thought they would never get.
The Human Torch
Five years after Avengers: Endgame, Chris Evans returns to the MCU, but not in the role everyone would think. For nine years, Chris Evans played Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was a role that redefined his image and made him a global movie star. Yet before he was Captain America, Evans played another Marvel hero. He played Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, in 2005’s Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
An Iconic Callback
Deadpool reacts very positively to Evan’s arrival in the Void, playing off a joke of Deadpool saluting Captain America on the TVA screens. Deadpool soon finds out that this is Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four, who Pyro quickly takes out. Evan’s Human Torch, along with Wolverine and Deadpool, is transported to Cassandra Nova, where he informs the duo about the Void.
He refers to Reed Richards, implying that the version played by Ioan Grufford might be dead. Cassandra Nova later kills the Human Torch, making the second movie in the Multiverse Saga to kill a Fantastic Four variant before their MCU debut after John Krasinsik’s Reed Richards was killed in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Fans might want to stick around for the end credits to see a bit more of Evans as the Human Torch.
Blade
Blade is the hero that kicked off the modern age of superhero movies and Marvel film adaptations, so despite not being a 20th Century Fox property, it is only fitting for Blade to be in this love letter to pre-MCU Marvel movies. Wesley Snipes reprises his role20 years after Blade: Trinity. That movie saw him co-star with Ryan Reynolds, and the two famously did not get along, which Deadpool even comments on in Deadpool & Wolverine. That makes Snipes’s return as Blade all the more surprising, but it appears the two have buried the hatchet.
There’s Only One Blade (For Now)
Snipes reprising his role as Blade is all the funnier because Marvel Studios has struggled to get a new Blade movie off the ground. Despite two-time Academy Award-winning actor Mahersha Ali convincing Marvel to make a Blade reboot in the MCU, the film has faced plenty of behind-the-scenes struggles.
Snipes himself even took a jab at Marvel Studios’ struggles with Blade, which, in retrospect, seems to have been done in good fun as he was already working with Marvel Studios. In one of the film’s best moments, Blade pulls out one of the Punisher’s bazookas, and when Deadpool asks which Punisher because there have been five, Blade quips back, “There is only one Blade” before Deadpool stares at the camera awkwardly, knowing both about the Spike TV series version but also the reboot is coming.
Channing Tatum’s Gambit
The big final member of the resistance is not a former actor reprising their role as a superhero, but an actor who never got to play the one they had spent years trying to make: Channing Tatum as Gambit. Deadpool & Wolverine finally allows fans to see a version of an X-Men movie that never happened. Tatum was linked to play Gambit in 2014 and even appeared at San Diego Comic-Con 2015 with the cast of other 20th Century Fox Marvel movies like Fantastic 4, X-Men: Apocalypse, and Deadpool. The film went through various directors before being canceled by Disney following its acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019. It seemed like Tatum’s dream of playing Gambit would never come true, but it finally happened thanks to Deadpool and the multiverse.
A Role Ten Years in the Making
While on the surface, Tatum’s Gambit cameo would draw comparisons to Nicolas Cage as Superman in The Flash, as both are references that hardcore fans know to movies that were never made that general audiences would just think the joke is a recognizable actor in a famous superhero costume, it works better in Deadpool & Wolverine. One is that it isn’t just a wordless cameo meant to make the audience cheer like in The Flash; Tatum’s Gambit is actually part of the film’s story.
The film also enjoys poking fun at the never-made Gambit movie, with the character commenting on how he feels like he was born in the Void and never got to prove himself. The costume itself is designed like the photoshops fans did of Tatum as Gambit and with an over-the-top Cajun accent that Deadpool has a great time mocking. This is one of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s best jokes and fan references.
Hulk
The Hulk is one of the first heroes created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, that defined the early years of Marvel Comics. There have been plenty of versions of the Hulk on screen, and Deadpool & Wolverine introduces a new character variant. When Deadpool is looking to recruit a Wolverine to be his universe’s new anchor to replace the deceased one following Logan, he finds a version wearing the orange and brown costume from the comics, but then Deadpool realizes he is about to fight the Hulk. The scene references Wolverine’s first appearance in The Incredible Hulk #181 and directly recreates the iconic cover of Incredible Hulk #340 with the Hulk reflected in Wolverine’s claws. The Hulk swats Deadpool away.
No Previous Hulk
The Hulk has had plenty of adaptations in the past. There is Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno from the television series The Incredible Hulk. 2003 saw Eric Bana take on the role of Hulk before the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced their version of the hero. Edward Norton originally played the role in The Incredible Hulk but, after disputes with Marvel Studios, was replaced by Mark Ruffalo, who has been in the role since The Avengers in 2012. The Hulk that is briefly seen fighting Wolverine is not the 2003 Hulk played by Eric Bana but is designed with the same CGI model as the MCU one from The Avengers, making this a variant version in the Marvel Multiverse.
Lady Deadpool
Deadpool & Wolverine has a lot of fun with the Deadpool variants. With a character that is already so chaotic, his variants are just as all over the place. The leader of the Deadpool Corp is none other than Lady Deadpool, who was already teased in the marketing. Her name is Wanda Wilson and while she never takes her mask off, her voice is easily recognizable as Blake Lively, who is married to Ryan Reynolds. This is also confirmed in the film’s credits.
Not Taylor Swift
Many fans assumed that Taylor Swift would appear in Deadpool & Wolverine, with Lady Deadpool being the prime suspect. However, the reveal that it is none other than Blake Lively is funny for plenty of reasons. Reynolds and Lively met on the set of 2011’s Green Lantern, and while that film was a critical and financial bomb that Reynolds had had a great deal of fun poking fun of throughout his career, his relationship with Lively is one positive to come out of it. In contrast to Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris being romantic partners, Reynold’s Deadpool and Lively’s Lady Deadpool are trying to kill one another in their scene.
Kidpool
Kidpool is, precisely as he would sound, a kid version of Deadpool. There is also notably a baby Deadpool in this Deadpool Corp of characters, making two distinct Deadpool children in this lineup. Kidpool is played by Walker Scobbell, who previously played the younger version of Ryan Reynolds in The Adam Project, also directed by Shawn Levy. Scobbell is now best known for playing Percy Jackson in Percy Jackson of the Olympians on Disney+.
Not a Young Avenger
The presence of Kidpool might make audiences think this is another potential Young Avengers setup. This is possible, but unlike, say, Kid Loki, who is a Young Avenger in the comics, Kidpool is not. Kidpool appears to be a fun one-off reference for now, but depending on what direction Marvel Studios decides to take the Young Avengers, the door is open for Kidpool to show up. The idea of Kidpool landing on an Avengers team before Deadpool opens the door up for many comedic possibilities.
Headpool
One of the biggest standouts of the Deadpool Corp is none other than Headpool. He is, as the name implies, a floating Deadpool head. While rumors originally suggested that Headpool would be the decapitated head of Weapon XI from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the version in the movie is a direct adaptation of the character from Marvel Zombies. In that storyline, Headpool is just Deadpool’s floating zombified head.
A Familiar Voice
Headpool is not voiced by Ryan Reynolds. Instead, he has a bit of a Southern accent, and in the credits, it is revealed he is voiced by none other than Nathan Fillion. This is not Fillion’s first MCU role. Due to his friendship with Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, Fillion previously voiced the Blue Alien prisoner in Guardians of the Galaxy and then appeared on-screen in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as Master Karja. He also originally was going to be on a poster in the Earth scenes of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as Simon Williams, but those were cut, allowing actor Yahya Abdul-Mateeen II to play the role in the upcoming Disney+ series Wonder Man. Fillion will next be seen as Guy Gardner in James Gunn’s Superman.
