Following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, almost no character’s MCU debut has come with more anticipation than Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool. Recently, the fan-favorite anti-hero has seen a spike in popularity over rumors that he would make that first appearance in Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which just debuted in theaters.
Fans first started to believe this idea when Deadpool was thought to be in the Doctor Strange 2 poster that debuted with its Super Bowl trailer in February. Even when Reynolds himself fiercely denied that he was in the movie, there was no way to tell for sure if he was lying to keep a potential inclusion a secret, thanks to the Andrew Garfield incident from Spider-Man: No Way Home.
When the movie premiered, it turned out that Reynolds was true to his word as fans saw no sign of Deadpool at any point in Doctor Strange 2’s 126-minute runtime, leaving his debut for another project down the road. However, in the days since the sequel's long-anticipated debut, a new report hints that this may not have always been the case.
Deadpool Almost in Doctor Strange 2?
Warning - the rest of this article contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
James Clement from The Weekly Planet podcast revealed that Marvel was planning for Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool to appear in the post-credits scene of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Clement noted that one of his sources informed him of five different characters had scenes that were filmed but ultimately cut from the final version of the film, including the MCU's prime version of Baron Mordo. Also mentioning Michael Fassbender's Magneto and a couple of other characters, he shared the information on Deadpool near the end of his remarks on that topic:
James Clement: “So somebody sent me a list of five characters that were going to be in this movie that were cut… So apparently, yeah, the Wanda killing MCU Mordo, that was real. That was going to happen. Michael Fassbender was going to turn up as Magneto… I said [to my source], ‘Were any of these filmed?’ And this person said, ‘Filmed but ultimately cut from the theatrical version,’ which is what my source relates… Balder the Brave as mentioned, though not given a name… Ghost Rider, which is very interesting as a member of the Illuminati…”
Nick Mason: “Oh, he was going to be in the Illuminati?”
James Clement: “Yeah, I guess? He was going to fight Wanda and probably die… and Deadpool was going to be in the post-credits scene.”
Doctor Strange 2 Nearly Had Another X-Man
While Doctor Strange 2's second post-credits scene showed Bruce Campbell's Pizza Poppa being freed from his painful spell, the first one introduced fans to Charlie Theron's Clea as she and Strange looked ahead to the Dark Dimension. It's impossible to say if these rumors about Deadpool being included in one of these scenes is true, but it's unquestionably cool to imagine what could have been.
Maybe Wade Wilson was the one who helped snap Campbell out of his self-punching trance? Could he have been in his own scene entirely, breaking the fourth wall and commenting on the Multiversal madness? Perhaps 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine version of Deadpool found his way into the MCU so that Wade could kill him again, a la Deadpool 2?
It's impossible to tell how Marvel would have introduced Deadpool in this post-credits scene, especially since he's confirmed to be sticking around the MCU for a while, unlike the now-slaughtered Illuminati. Head writer Michael Waldron even shared that the anti-hero was in discussions for an appearance in Doctor Strange 2 at one point, giving some credence to this report.
Even though Deadpool didn't show up in this movie, his ultimate debut is one that has the entire MCU fandom giddy with excitement.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing in theaters.
