Warning: Full spoilers follow for Deadpool & Wolverine.
has finally arrived, and it’s packed with more Easter eggs, cameos, and references than you can shake a Time Stick at. Sure, there were some surprises spoiled in the trailers and promos, but the joining of the Fox and Marvel Cinematic Universes saved its biggest jaw-droppers for the big screen.
That includes multiple Wolverines, multiple Deadpools (including, yes, Lady Deadpool), returning actors from the Fox movies… And even one from a movie that never was. But that’s only the beginning of what’s in store in the flick, and with the one-liners dropping a mile a minute, there’s a good chance you missed at least a couple of the references and inside jokes in the film.
That’s where we come in! Below, you’ll find every single reference, Easter egg, and cameo that we could jot down from the new movie. And while we may not have caught every single Deadpool variant – there were 100, according to Nicepool (RIP) – hopefully this can serve as a bit of a checklist for your second, third, or fourth viewing of the film!
Wolverine Variants
Let’s start with Wolverine Variants, established during a montage sequence where Deadpool (also Reynolds) travels the multiverse trying to find a new Wolverine to be the “Anchor Being” for his Earth:
Logan’s Skeleton
Actually, let’s start even further back for the sake of completeness. In the opening sequence, Deadpool digs up the corpse of Logan (Hugh Jackman) from the 2017 movie. He’s rotted down to a little skin and his adamantium skeleton. Deadpool proceeds to use Logan’s skeleton to kill an entire squad of TVA (Time Variance Authority) officers, and wears Logan’s claws. It’s pretty gross!
Okay, back to the montage sequence.
Short King Wolverine
One of the most frequent criticisms of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is that he’s 6 foot 2 inches tall, while Wolverine is about 5 foot 3 inches tall in the comics. The first multiversal Wolverine Deadpool encounters plays off of this, though he’s even shorter than the comic book version.
Weapon Omega
The Wolverine who fights Deadpool in an alley with one hand and a big bushy beard is straight out of Marvel’s classic Age of Apocalypse crossover. First introduced in X-Men: Alpha #1, Weapon Omega is an extreme version of Wolverine from a dark alternate timeline, except the good news for him is he’s together with Jean Grey in this reality. So why is he so mad then? Because he’s The Wolverine, that’s why.
Patch
One of Wolverine’s most frequently used aliases in the comics is Patch, where he dresses in a white suit, wears an eyepatch, and goes undercover – and nobody knows it’s Wolverine despite the extremely recognizable hair and attitude. In Deadpool & Wolverine we catch up with him gambling, most likely in Madripoor (as seen in Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier).
Old Man Logan
Despite Logan being a very loose adaptation of the comic book Old Man Logan, guess who we meet here? Old Man Logan. He’s the, er, old Logan wearing the cowboy hat who shoots Deadpool with a shotgun.
Crucified Wolverine on a Bed of Skulls
Not a dish they serve at a fancy restaurant, but in fact a direct reproduction of one of the most famous comic book covers of all time… Marc Silvestri’s cover art from Uncanny X-Men #251 from 1989.
Hulk vs. Wolverine
Wolverine, surprisingly, was first introduced in an issue of The Incredible Hulk. Specifically, as a cameo at the end of The Incredible Hulk #180, before his first full appearance fighting the Green Goliath in Incredible Hulk #181. Here we get to see a riff on that with Wolverine in his brown costume fighting the Hulk. That’s different from the comic book issue, where the yellow and blue-suited Wolverine fought the Hulk – most likely to delineate this Variant from the main version of the character we see in the movie.
Bonus: There’s a quick shot of Hulk reflected in Wolverine’s claws, a shout-out to Todd McFarlane’s cover from 1987’s The Incredible Hulk #340.
The Cavillrine
Unlike the rest of the Wolverine Variants, who are played by Hugh Jackman, this movie introduces a surprise new actor as Wolverine… Henry Cavill, who Deadpool calls The Cavillrine. Pretty much as soon as Cavill announced in late 2022 that he wouldn’t return as Superman, fans started dream-casting him as various MCU characters. And now they finally got their wish! Sort of. There’s also a solid joke where Deadpool tells Cavillrine, "We'll treat you so much better than those a**holes down the street," a reference to Cavill’s treatment by DC and Warner Bros. Discovery when Cavill was told he was coming back as Superman, until James Gunn and Peter Safran took over and plans changed. And just to clarify, there’s no bad blood between DC Studios and Cavill as far as we know – it’s just sort of a bummer about how it all played out!
Deadpool Variants
As mentioned earlier, with 100 Deadpool Variants popping up in the climax of the movie as part of the Deadpool Corps, it’s a guarantee that we missed a few – though some just seemed like Deadpools of different sizes and shapes anyway. With that in mind, we’ll break down the major ones here:
Lady Deadpool
The object of the internet’s insane obsession for months now is voiced by Blake Lively, the IRL wife of Ryan Reynolds, who gets multiple other shout-outs in the movie (including one boner joke about Gossip Girl). We never see the character’s face in the movie, and sorry, Taylor Swift is not playing her. Wanda Wilson was created by Victor Gischler and Rob Liefeld, and introduced in Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #7.
Dogpool/Mary Puppins
While the internet focused on Lady Deadpool, the actual object of Wade’s affections is indeed a multiversal variant of Wade Wilson, just like how Alligator Loki on Loki is also, uh, Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Dogpool is played by Peggy, named Britain’s Ugliest Dog. The character was first introduced by Gischler and Phillip Bond in Prelude to Deadpool Corps #3.
Headpool
The very polite floating zombie head version of Deadpool is voiced by Nathan Fillion, and was introduced by Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips in Marvel Zombies #3.
Kidpool
While Kidpool is a kid version of Wade Wilson, the actress playing Kidpool is literally Ryan Reynolds’ kid: Inez Reynolds plays Kidpool, and she’s the daughter of Reynolds and Lively. Kidpool was introduced in the comics by Gischler and Whilce Portacio in Prelude to Deadpool Corps #2. Just don’t confuse Kidpool with Babypool, who also shows up here.
Cowboy Deadpool, aka The Deadpool Kid
Introduced by Gischler and Bong Dazo in Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth #7, Cowboy Deadpool only briefly appears, and is voiced by Matthew McConaughey, which is alright, alright, alright with us.
Dancepool
Just gonna trust IMDb on this one, but dancer Nick Pauley is listed as Dancepool.
There are, of course, a lot more we didn’t identify here. Some fans swear they saw an Avengers: Endgame time suit variant, there’s one that looks like some sort of anime character with an LED helmet, and there’s a good chance everyone from Kingpool to Pandapool (you can figure those ones out) are in there somewhere. Oh, and of course there’s the newest addition, Peterpool (Rob Delaney).
Fox Movies Cameos
Other than Deadpool and Wolverine, a.k.a. the title characters, the Fox movie cameos – many of which are outright supporting roles, and not cameos at all – are the main event here. So let’s break them all down!
Dafne Keen as Laura, a.k.a. X-23
As revealed in a trailer from Marvel, Dafne Keen lied about being in this film while on tour for The Acolyte. But that’s okay (we guess?) because after portraying the younger clone of Wolverine in Logan, she’s back for a key emotional role in the movie, sunglasses and all. And the even better news is Laura survives in Deadpool’s universe, so this may not be the last time we see X-23 on screen.
Jennifer Garner as Elektra
Garner first portrayed the assassin in 2003’s Daredevil, before reprising the role in 2005’s Elektra, which was an out-and-out failure. Also a failure? Garner’s marriage to Daredevil co-star Ben Affleck, which gets a snarky reference when Elektra expresses complete ambivalence about Daredevil dying off-screen in the Void in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Channing Tatum as Gambit
In perhaps the wildest casting in a string of wild cast reveals, Channing Tatum is Gambit, a role he’s been gunning to play since X-Men: The Last Stand. He was originally cast in the role of the Ragin' Cajun before it was cut from the script. And for well over a decade, he’s been trying – and failing – to make a Gambit spinoff film, which was officially killed when Disney bought Fox. That’s why he’s constantly making jokes about nobody meeting him before. But the even funnier joke is that Tatum once put down Taylor Kitsch’s lack of Cajun accent in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, saying that as he was New Orleans raised, he could do a better job. Here, Tatum uses an impenetrable patois that drives even Deadpool crazy. Let’s all apologize to Taylor Kitsch now.
Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/Human Torch
In a great bait and switch, Chris Evans is not playing Captain America; he’s playing Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch from 2005’s Fantastic Four and its sequel, 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. He’s also got a very dirty mouth, as you discover if you stay to the end of the credits.
Aaron Stanford as Pyro
Stanford played the flame-controlling mutant in X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand, and returns here as Cassandra Nova’s second-in-command… And eventual betrayer.
Tyler Mane as Sabretooth
Mane returns as Wolverine’s evil opposite, after playing the character in the original X-Men movie. The part was also played by Liev Schrieber in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Toad
In a brief appearance, the long-tongued Toad returns as part of Cassandra Nova's army. The mutant was played by Ray Park, Darth Maul himself, in the original X-Men movie, where we found out the shocking answer to what happens when a toad is hit by lightning.
Deathstrike
Another brief appearance, but Deathstrike – the one with the long adamantium nails – is back after getting taken out in X2. In the 2003 film, she was played by Kelly Hu.
Azazel
You’re not going to believe this, but another brief appearance! Azazel played a small role in X-Men: First Class, and showed up as a corpse in X-Men: Days of Future Past. He’s the red teleporting demon-looking guy who may or may not be related to Nightcrawler. In First Class he was played by Jason Flemyng.
Juggernaut
The unstoppable mutant returns here in the same outfit he was wearing in X-Men: The Last Stand, though he’s not played by Vinnie Jones like he was in that movie. He also appeared in Deadpool 2, where he was portrayed by a CGI model of director David Leitch, with Ryan Reynolds’ voice.
Psylocke
This may be incorrect, but one mutant in the big fight at Nova’s stronghold uses what looks like a lasso/whip made of the same sort of sum totality of her psychic powers that Psylocke uses, though the character was not portrayed by Olivia Munn, as she was in X-Men: Apocalypse.
Other Cameos
That covers the major categories, but what about everything else? Here are some other cameos, references, and Easter eggs we caught.
Wesley Snipes as Blade
Wesley Snipes has portrayed the Daywalker three times on screen before Deadpool & Wolverine. He kicked off the modern superhero movie renaissance in 1998 with Blade, continued it with Blade II, and blew it all up in Blade: Trinity, which co-starred none other than Ryan Reynolds. He also played a half-human, half-vampire for an incredible episode of What We Do in the Shadows, though they referred to him as “Wesley” so it sort of doesn’t count. Regardless, he’s back for one more stab of the stake in this new MCU movie, and the script doesn’t leave any joke on the table. Three faves?
- Snipes says he’s the only Blade there ever was, and ever will be, to which Deadpool looks directly to the camera, referencing Mahershala Ali’s MCU project that’s been in development since 2019. Heck, maybe Snipes is right on this one.
- When Blade first meets Deadpool, he says, “I don’t like you,” to which Deadpool replies, “You never did.” If you don’t have an Advanced Degree in Marvel Studies, you probably don’t know that Snipes and Reynolds famously either feuded or just got on each other’s nerves during the filming of Blade: Trinity, depending on who you ask. The reason? Snipes went method as Blade while Reynolds improvised his little heart out to try to make the actor break character.
- In the fight with Cassandra Nova’s (Emma Corrin) troops, Blade says, “Some motherf**kers are still always trying to ice-skate uphill,” which is a callback to the most insane line in movie history, which Blade says when he fights Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff) in the first Blade movie. Reportedly, Snipes came up with the original line one day while eating sour cream chicken. No, we don’t know what he’s talking about, either.
Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
You probably caught this, too! Favreau, who directed the first two Iron Man movies, guest-stars as the guy gently rejecting Deadpool from the Avengers. Favreau has now played Happy in eight MCU movies, not to mention voicing the character on the animated What If…? Dude loves playing Happy! He’s happy to be Happy!
Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15
Hunter B-15 has been a key character in both seasons of Loki. She started as a soldier questioning who she really was, and now she’s running the TVA – and has the hots for Peter.
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
This barely counts because it’s repurposed footage from Thor: The Dark World, but Thor shows up on one of the screens in the TVA, cradling Deadpool’s broken body and crying. The implication is this will happen in Secret Wars, but TBD.
Chris Evans as Captain America
This counts even less! We see a ton of footage of Evans as Cap, presumably to set up the Human Torch swerve later on.
Ollie Palmer
If you watch the FX series Welcome to Wrexham, you know Reynolds co-owns Wrexham AFC, a football team in Wales. Palmer, a striker for the team, pops up briefly as a bar patron.
Rob McElhenney
Reynolds co-owns Wrexham AFC with McElhenney. And as teased on an episode of Welcome to Wrexham, the It’s Always Sunny star shows up briefly as a TVA soldier.
Stan Lee
Stan Lee has appeared in every Deadpool movie so far, and in fact, he appears in this one too – at least in spirit. In the fight with the Deadpool Corps, as Wolverine and Deadpool slash their way through a bus full of multiversal Deadpools, you can briefly glimpse a cartoon Stan Lee head, in an ad on the side of the bus, for some sort of cleaning company.
Other Easter Eggs and References
- Deadpool says Logan wears the costume because he gained weight “since the divorce,” which is a reference to Jackman’s IRL divorce. It’s also a set-up for the reveal of Jackman’s still-rippling abs by the end of the movie.
- The convoy led by Pyro has a Fantasticar from Fantastic Four, a Fantastic Four logo flag, and the Red Skull’s car from Captain America: The First Avenger.
- Crashed in the Void is a helicarrier, and what looks like Thanos’s Q-ships from Infinity War and Endgame. You also probably caught the 20th Century Fox logo, half-buried in the sand.
- In Happy’s office are a bunch of keepsakes, including the half-finished Cap shield from the first Iron Man movie.
- Deadpool does Spider-Man thwips while he’s driving in the car with Wolverine, which is probably the most they can use/reference Spider-Man in this movie for [spooky voice] contractual reasons.
- Spotted in the Void: Captain America’s WWII shield, an old-fashioned Thor helmet, and a stone wall in the shape of Wanda Maximoff’s head, just to really dig into Scarlet Witch fans who don’t like that she was flattened by a mountain in Multiverse of Madness.
- X-Men namechecks include Professor X (a lot), Cyclops, Storm, Jean Grey, Beast, and more.
- Deadpool makes a joke about Van Wilder (which starred Reynolds) to Nicepool, to which Nicepool says he can break the fourth wall too, looks at the audience, and says, “The Proposal,” another Reynolds movie.
- After being told The Punisher died in the Void trying to attack Cassandra Nova, Deadpool says, “Which one? There’s been a lot of them.” And indeed, multiple actors have played Frank Castle on screen, including Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane, Ray Stevenson, and currently Jon Bernthal.
So that’s everything we caught in Deadpool & Wolverine in terms of cameos, Easter eggs, and just funny referential stuff. What did we miss? What was your favorite? Let’s discuss in the comments!
