Deadpool & Wolverine has been stuffed with many big cameos, some even unexpected. But ahead of the movie’s release, the film was rife with cameo rumors, with the likes of the original X-Men, like Cyclops, Storm, and Jean Grey, and even MCU characters, such as Loki, Doctor Stranger, and Spider-Man, allegedly appearing. But their appearances aren’t the only thing that didn’t happen. The third Deadpool movie was originally set to feature an Avengers reunion, but it was scrapped during the early stages of development.
In an interview with IndieWire, writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick explored the cameos of Deadpool & Wolverine and discussed the threequel's deeply guarded secrets, some of which had never been revealed before. One of them was the supposed cameo of the Avengers, with the original six actors—Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner—reprising their roles.
“We haven’t told anybody this, but there was a version of that scene very, very early on that wasn’t written but was conceived that had all the Avengers in the room,” Wernick revealed.
In the early part of the movie, Wade (Ryan Reynolds) applies to Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) to be part of the Avengers, but the latter refuses. Wade even looks for Tony Stark, but Hogan says he’s busy doing “entry-level matters.” Initially, after Wade was rejected, Wernick said that the Merc with a Mouth would dress all the Avengers down in a way only he could do.
“That’s a little bit of a scoop, but he was going to get mad and basically attack each one of them in a vicious kind of way,” Reese added.
Peter was also supposed to be in that room in the Avengers Tower, accompanying Wade and picking up Thor’s hammer in the background as a joke. Though it didn’t end up in the screenplay, it was part of the idea of that scene. Reese also pitched a scene where Peter tries to get Captain America to swear.
“I don’t really remember too much else in terms of the details, but yeah, he was going to dress them down to be sure,” Reese continued.
Though that scene looks expensive, with the number of big stars that have to be in it, Reese explained it’s also hard to do because of the actors’ schedules. Knowing it was impossible, he couldn’t even imagine coordinating their time together.
“Goodness knows, it would’ve been impossible,” he exclaimed. “That’s sort of like the “We Are the World” documentary where they tried to get Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel and Cyndi Lauper, Michael Jackson all together at once. Impossible.”
Robert Downey Jr. was Supposed to Join Jon Favreau in Deadpool & Wolverine
When Deadpool looked for Stark, many assumed that Downey would appear in Deadpool & Wolverine, though it didn't happen. However, Wernick admitted that he was supposed to be in that scene and they even had it written that sequence with Favreau and Downey.
“Ryan Reynolds wrote the scene with both of them, so in the hopes we could get Downey,” Reese stated. “But he also wanted Favreau, because they’re a great combo, and they were all in the scene together.”
At the time, they didn’t know Marvel Studios would announce Downey’s return as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret War. So, Reynolds gave him the hard press; they wrote the scenes and had Downey read them. However, with his return to the MCU, they knew there was no way that he would do both.
Stark was supposed to reject Wade’s application, saying he wasn’t a team player and questioning his team-player abilities, the same way Hogan did. But though they would love Downey to be in it, Marvel also had its ace in its hole, as the actor was already set to return in a different character.
“So, to have him be Tony Stark? Knowing that Doctor Doom was coming on the heels of that? It just didn’t make sense,” Reese realized.
With the incredible hype Deadpool & Wolverine has built, it may be easier to invite even the big actors to be in it. However, the studio and producers also have to consider their budget and the actors’ schedules. But if the Avengers reunion happens, it will make the threequel bigger than it already is.
