Summary
Deadpool & Wolverinetreated Marvel fans with tons of cameos and one of them was record-breaking. One of the actors recently broke records for simply reprising his Marvel comic character in the MCU tentpole.
Many actors were very grateful to Ryan Reynolds for giving them the platform to play their superhero roles again inDeadpool & Wolverine. First, he brought back Hugh Jackman nearly seven years after the 55-year-old announced in 2017 thatLoganwould be the last time he would play the mutant with adamantium metal claws. Jackman headlinedDeadpool & Wolverinealongside Reynolds. Chris Evans, who is known asCaptain America from MCU’sAvengers,also appeared in the film, but he played his other superhero role – Johnny Storm, aka Human Torch, fromFantastic Four. Before Evans became Captain America, he portrayed Human Torch inFantastic Four(2005) andFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer(2007). However, aside from the two, another actor made acameo inDeadpool & Wolverineand his appearance in the movie made a huge difference.
Countless Marvel superheroes joined Reynolds and Jackman inDeadpool & Wolverine.However, Wesley Snipes' presence in the film earned him two Guinness World Records. Snipes reprised his role as half-vampire “daywalker” Blade inDeadpool 3. He first playedBladein 1998 and played the role again in the superhero threequeel 25 years and 340 days later, beating Jackman for therecord of longest career as a live action Marvel character, according toGuinness World Records. The former titleholder was Sir Patrick Stewart, who earned the title in 2022 after playing Professor X inDoctor Strange 2.He first played the powerful telepath in 2000’sX-Menand Jackman was expected to take over the title as he played Wolverine 24 years ago inX-Men(2000). However,Snipes' surprising cameoearned him the record instead, beating Jackman in the process. Additionally, Snipes earned therecord for the longest gap between character appearancesin Marvel movies. His last appearance as Blade was 19 years and 231 days ago in 2004’sBlade: Trinity. He surpassed Alfred Molina’s 17-year gap between playing Doctor Octopus inSpider-Man 2(2004) andSpider-Man: No Way Home(2021).
Snipes admitted in an interview withEntertainment Weeklythat he never thought it was possible for him to reprise hisBladerole because Mahershala Ali has been attached to play the character in a reboot. In 2019, it was announced at the San Diego Comic-Con thatAli would headline the nextBlademovie. However, Snipes received a text from Reynolds, and it opened the door for him to reprise his Marvel character. But at the time, the actor admitted that he had some reservations as he was unsure if that was what Disney or Marvel wanted. Reprising the role when a younger actor was set to play it in a reboot didn’t make sense to Snipes, but Reynolds assured him that it was okay. Snipes said, “I thought it didn’t make sense to me, but [when] you get a call from Ryan Reynolds out of the blue after 20 years, you go, ‘Okay, I got to take this call. Let’s see what this is about.’ He told me the idea… They said ‘yes’ and ‘it’s a go.’ ‘If you’re in, we’re in.’ Here we are.” Snipes added that he wasn’t ready for the role because it had been decades since he last played it, but he prepared for it big time.
Snipes said:
I wasn’t Blade ready, man. I don’t walk around as Blade every day, you know what I mean? With a trench coat and shades and fangs in my mouth. We had to work out. We definitely had to get the body, and my biggest concern was being in condition enough to deal with whatever the action was. They didn’t really tell me what the action was going to be, so I prepared for whatever that was going to come. Thankfully, I didn’t have to do as much as I thought I would because the action movies are tough. They’re not easy at all by any means. About a month into it, I got the body right… and then, with the help of a little customized foam well placed in certain areas, it was all good to go, baby. Let’s ride!
Thecameos inDeadpool & Wolverinewere a massive treat to fans, and they gave a feeling of nostalgia to those who got to see their favorite characters who were last seen decades ago. Aside from Snipes and Evans reprising their roles as the vampire hunter and Human Torch, respectively, Jennifer Garner also made an appearance in the movie as Elektra. Garner played the supreme martial artist and assassin in two projects,Daredevil (2003) and Elektra (2005). However, the movie didn’t just give the former MCU actors the chance to play their characters again; most importantly, it made one of the cast members' dreams come true. Channing Tatum was set to headline in a standalone Gambit movie. However, the project was canceled after Disney acquired Fox in 2019. In an emotional post onInstagram, Tatum said there was no one in the industry who had his back more than Reynolds, who made it possible for him to play Gambit on the big screen as he thought that he had lost the role forever. Tatum debuted as Gambit inDeadpool 3and he pulled it off. His Cajun accent is perfect, and there is no denying that Tatum could possibly start the Gambit franchise. His superhero role as Gambit has been a long time coming and his brief cameo inDeadpool 3is a testament that he deserves the film he is supposed to headline. Overall, the cameos inDeadpool & Wolverineare very satisfying and probably one of the reasons why the film is a must-watch.
