Deadpool & Wolverine may have once featured a cute white Nick Fury cameo.
Marvel Studios' latest super-powered blockbuster featured a stacked roster of Marvel heroes both new and old.
The R-rated Multiversal epic served as one final goodbye to some of the franchise's lesser-known on-screen characters like Jennifer Garner's Elektra, Wesley Snipes' Blade, and even the long-rumored Channing Tatum take on the iconic Marvel mutant, Gambit. But surely, some hit the cutting room floor.
A Cut Deadpool & Wolverine Cameo Seemingly Revealed
Fans seem to have deduced that a potential cameo from a white Nick Fury may have been cut from Deadpool & Wolverine.
This stems from a behind-the-scenes photo from the film posted on social media, spotlighting several stunt performers who worked on the movie (via Power of X-Men on Instagram).
Every character shown in the picture eventually popped up in Deadpool & Wolverine in some form. That is, except for one.
Stunt performer David Macdonald was seen in the image wearing an outfit that never made it into the movie, one that bore a striking resemblance to Marvel Comics character Nick Fury.
Macdonald, who also served as Channing Tatum's stunt double on the Deadpool threequel, was adorned in black leather with a striking eye patch splayed across his face.
After the image started to circle on social media, fans made it their quest to try and figure out who exactly Macdonald's eye-patching-wearing character in Deadpool & Wolverine was set to be before ultimately getting cut.
Some believe they may have finally found the answer. Fan seems to believe this particular Macdonald character was, in fact, a reference to Baywatch actor David Hasselhoff's portrayal of a white Nick Fury in the 1998 TV movie, Nick Fury: Agent of Shield.
In the initial Instagram post's caption, Macdonald is referred to as Erg with no mention of Fury or Hasselhoff. Erg is a mutant from Marvel Comics lore, who also wears an eye patch and is known for his electric optic blasts (akin to those of Cyclops).
Above is a picture of Erg from the original X-Men: The Animated Series. As you can tell, other than the eye patch, the character's costume and hair style has little to no resemblance to Erg and looks much more like the director of SHIELD.
The biggest piece of evidence pointing to this is the specific placement of leather straps across his torso. The shoulder holster that connects to his black belt is almost identical to the one Hasselhoff wore in his brief time as the iconic Marvel hero and nothing like the mutant Erg.
Of course, this cut cameo has not been confirmed to have been the case, but it is pretty convincing.
It would just be interesting to know if Hasselhoff himself was ever in talks to play the character, or would he have been recast like several other legacy cameos seen Deadpool & Wolverine?
Why Was the White Nick Fury Cut from Deadpool 3?
As of writing, it remains unknown if the character David Macdonald was dressed as in this now infamous Deadpool & Wolverine photo was, in fact, the white Nick Fury as played by David Hasselhoff.
But if he was, some may begin to wonder why exactly the character was cut.
Ultimately it probably comes down to just how jam-packed the movie ended up being and giving everyone their moment to shine.
Bringing back a hero like Hasselhoff's Nick Cage would have been such a deep cut that even the most seasoned of Marvel fans may not have gotten it, even if it was for just a moment or two.
There has been plenty of conversation about the various cameos, that made the final cut or not, in Deadpool & Wolverine, and this only adds to that.
Director Shawn Levy previously told Variety that there was "a 70-name menu of Marvel characters" they were looking at trying to jam into the film, including names like Ben Affleck's Daredevil and (perhaps) David Hasselhoff's Nick Fury:
"Early on, when we were looking at a 70-name menu of Marvel characters, Daredevil was on one of those lists, but never since those earliest of conversations, and never to the point of outreach or offers or anything like that. We made contact with everyone featured in the Fox tribute reel halfway through our end credits — and that’s dozens of actors who have been a part of that legacy. That was fun to build a love letter to those years, those characters, and all the actors who played them."
But, as is the case with any sort of production of this size, there was only so much money and time to get these sorts of deals done. And, to put it simply, there likely was a lack of one or the other that resulted in the white Nick Fury cameo ultimately getting cut (read more about the Deadpool 3 cameos here).
Deadpool & Wolverine is expected to start streaming on Disney+ soon and will come to digital on Tuesday, October 1.
