All of the Deadpool and Wolverine Cameos, Explained

Will Dafne Keen's Laura be back for more adventures with the X-Men? PHOTO BY Marvel Entertainment / Youtube

(SPOT.ph) The Marvel Cinematic Universe is back on the big screen after an eight-month hiatus with its most unlikely leading men: Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Despite all the trials, company mergers, ceremonious send-offs, and the rightly deserved R-rating, the pair of blade-wielding, self-healing mutants finally get to team up in the, thus far, family-friendly MCU. As such, you could expect the trilogy capper to be chalked full of cameos and surprise appearances, all of which we recap below.

For this list, we won’t include the likes ofJon Favreau’s Happy Hogan and Wunmi Mosaku’s Hunter B-15, as their appearances need no explanation other than "these characters are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe." The following seven characters are just that loaded with trivial backstory that will surely make you stand out as you explain it loudly to your companion as the credits roll.

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Here are all of the Deadpool & Wolverine cameos explained:

Laura / X-23 (Dafne Keen)

The first and most obvious narrative inclusion outside of Logan himself is the inclusion ofDafne Keen’s Laura, a.k.a. X-23, from Logan. The character seems to be the variant of Laura from the 2017 film that killed off Jackman’s Wolverine, as she’s used to directly reference the events of that film while giving this new version of Wolverine a pep talk to join the battle against Emma Corrin’s Cassandra Nova. Keen’s Laura is now in her late teen years and seems to be a take-charge resistance fighter in the Void, so she’s gone through the wringer since we’ve last seen her. The film’s ending, however, leaves us with a hopeful note that she’ll be back to share some more adventures with the X-Men.

Johnny Storm / The Human Torch (Chris Evans)

The film’s first big surprise cameo comes as a clever misdirect via the inclusion of Chris Evans. Upon first landing in the Void, Deadpool and Wolverine encounter Evans, who warns them of the band of evil mutants led by Cassandra Nova. Deadpool mistakes the heroic figure with Captain America and builds up the anticipation for Evans to yell out, "Avengers Assemble!" However, Evans instead cries out the catchphrase of the Human Torch, "Flame on!"

Evans, of course, previously portrayed the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four duology of the mid-2000’s, around the same era Jackman’sX-Men films were releasing. Both Marvel Comics film franchises were produced by 20th Century Fox, which has since been acquired by the Walt Disney Company. The misdirect of including Evans as the Human Torch instead is the film’s first signal that Deadpool & Wolverine would be acting less as a Marvel Studios fanfare and more as a tribute to the 20th Century Fox Marvel productions. Or, it could be just a friendly favor from Evans, who starred as himself in Reynolds and Director Shawn Levy’s previous collaboration, 2021’s Free Guy.

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Elektra (Jennifer Garner)

The next surprise appearance comes with the reveal that the freedom fighters in the Void are comprised of Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Wesley Snipes’ Blade, and Channing Tatum’s Gambit—all stars of ill-fated 20th Century Fox productions (in one form or another), which is definitely ingrained into each character’s arc.

Garner previously appeared as Elektra in the 2003 Daredevil film, led by her ex-husband Ben Affleck, and the 2005 spin-off Elektra. Both films were negatively received by both critics and comic book fans, so the crime-ridden streets of Hell’s Kitchen were left unexplored until Marvel re-acquired the rights in the early 2010’s—after which they put out a critically acclaimed Daredevil series on Netflix. The legacy of Garner’s Elektra and Affleck’s Daredevil, however, still lives on though in faint memories of playground sparring and Evanescence’s "Bring Me to Life".

Blade (Wesley Snipes)

Snipes’ Blade is definitely the most surprising Marvel icon to appear in the third Deapdool film—not because of anything related to Snipes’ age or availability, but mostly due to rumors that Reynolds and Snipes never truly got along while previously working together Blade: Trinity, the worst reviewed film of the 2000s film trilogy. "I don't know if I ever got him to laugh. The guy's Blade," Reynolds stated in an interview with IGN back in 2012.

Still, Reynolds is not averse to making fun of his past failed comic book movie roles through the Deadpool films, such as the multiple jabs at his failed 2011 Green Lantern film and even his first stab at the Deadpool character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Having Snipes appear as Blade in the third Deadpool film brings his Reynolds’ comic book movie journey full circle in the most wholesome way. Even if Snipes manages to sneak in a sly jab at Mahershala Ali’s floundering attempts at getting up a Blade reimagining, as he proclaims, "I’m the only Blade that ever was and ever will be."

Gambit (Channing Tatum)

The film’s most confusing cameo to the uninitiated manifests itself in the form of a wild Channing Tatum appearing in the full comic-accurate suit of the cajun-accented X-Man, Gambit. Tatum’s Gambit jokes repeatedly about how he doesn’t know where he originates from and how he desperately wants to make a name for himself. This is somewhat of a deep cut reference to the fact that Tatum was announced to be starring and producing in a Gambit solo film—and even brought out on stage at San Diego Comic Con along with the casts of X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool, and The Fantastic Four in 2015.

This quite obviously led nowhere as no Gambit film starring Tatum was ever released, as the film was plagued with development issues spanning multiple directors and writers attached to the project before ultimately being scrapped when Disney acquired Fox. While it’s doubtful Tatum will continue playing the character in more than one-off appearances in the future, it definitely is a wish come true for him to finally bring his take on Ragin’ Cajun to the big screen.

Wolverine (Henry Cavill)

The Wolverine hunting montage early on in the film is a treasure trove for Wolverine easter eggs and cameos, with the notable appearances of Patches, the Incredible Hulk, and "comic accurate Wolverine." However, the standout cameo is far and away the appearance of Superman actor Henry Cavill as a variant that looks very similar to Hugh Jackman’s early outings as Wolverine—we’re talking the white sleeveless shirt, cigar, and mutton chops. This seems to just be a nod to the popular fan casting of Cavill as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Wolverine, something Marvel Studios has done in the past with the inclusion ofJohn Krasinski’s Mr. Fantasic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

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The Most Hidden Cameo: Ladypool (Blake Lively)

While the film itself doesn’t have Ladypool unmask herself in any way, eagle-eyed audiences will undoubtedly spot during the film’s end credits that Ladypool is in fact portrayed by Reynolds’ wife and former Gossip Girl actress Blake Lively. Lively herself is no stranger to comic book films, appearing as the love interest Carol Ferris in Reynolds’ Green Lantern film. Funnily enough, this is where the couple met. It’s only fitting that Lively gets her own appearance in a Deadpool film—playing a Deadpool variant, no less—even if it is mostly in the voice capacity.

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Deadpool and Wolverine is now playing in cinemas.