MCU Theory: Taylor Swift's Rumored Deadpool 3 Cameo Won't Be As Big As You Think

For a while now, rumors have been rampant that Taylor Swift, international pop superstar and friend of "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds, could end up making a cameo in the franchise's upcoming third installment. Fan art casting the Eras Tour songstress as Dazzler — a classic "X-Men" superhero who can turn sound into beams of light — has made the rounds online, and people who identify as both Swifties and Marvel fans are eagerly waiting to see if either Swift or Reynolds drops further hints about a potential "Deadpool 3" appearance.

Let's all be realistic for a moment, though. Taylor Swift is one of the most in-demand human beings currently walking planet Earth. During her break from the Eras Tour (which picks back up in November), she's been spotted leaving recording studios, dining out with friends like Sophie Turner, and even attending a few Kansas City Chiefs games to cheer on her rumored beau, tight end Travis Kelce. The woman is so big that when she enters venues to perform in the Eras Tour, she's been spotted using janitorial carts to make covert entrances to the backstage area (a ruse that worked until videos of her leaving said cart surfaced online). All of this is to say that Swift, for a whole bunch of reasons, doesn't have the time or need to show up in "Deadpool 3" — and if she does, it'll be a seriously small appearance. Here's why.

For many, it feels like Taylor Swift has always been famous — which tracks, considering that she's been making music steadily for nearly two decades — but the past few years have seen a meteoric rise in her popularity. Between 2020 and 2023, she released an astounding five studio albums, three of which ("folklore," "evermore," and "Midnights") were brand new, and two of which ("Taylor's Versions" of "Fearless" and "Red") were re-recordings of her previous work. ("folklore" also took home the Grammy for album of the year in 2021.) When Swift announced that she'd return to touring with the Eras Tour, demand for tickets was so high that Ticketmaster crashed completely and the United States Senate started looking into the company's status as an industry monopoly. Once people actually got tickets, the Eras Tour smashed records throughout the U.S., and it'll likely keep doing so throughout the world as Swift tours internationally.

Again, this context is important when it comes to a potential Swift cameo in "Deadpool 3." Swift's mission to re-record her work (after her master recordings were effectively stolen by Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun) is time-consuming enough without throwing in new music, her deal to write and direct a film for Searchlight, and the Eras Tour, which is set throughout 2024. When exactly would Swift find the time to slap on a Dazzler costume and do a little goof with Ryan Reynolds?

If Taylor Swift finds enough hours in the day to film a cameo for "Deadpool 3" — and that feels like a big "if," based on the evidence — it'll be an extremely small cameo at best. Furthermore, it'll probably be the sort of cameo that doesn't require any repeat visits from Swift. Harry Styles, Brett Goldstein, and Kit Harington have all played parts in MCU post-credits scenes that seem to set them up for future appearances, but unlike her former flame Styles, Swift probably would look for a role that includes an exit ramp.

To be fair to fans dying to see Swift dazzle as Dazzler, Ryan Reynolds has enlisted famous friends for split-second appearances before. Brad Pitt plays the invisible Vanisher in "Deadpool 2," only to become ever-so-briefly visible as he perishes in an explosion. Swift name-drops Reynolds' children with Blake Lively — James, Betty, and Inez — in songs throughout "folklore," so maybe, just maybe, she'll do her friend a favor and find time to play around in the MCU as Dazzler. Optimistically, though, this appearance would be a one-off — not the start of Swift's MCU era.

There was a time when the MCU was way, way bigger than even Taylor Swift. After kicking off with "Iron Man" in 2008, the cinematic universe basically ran the box office throughout the 2010s, peaking in 2019 in the aftermath of the two-part "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame." After that, though, enthusiasm for the MCU started to wane as time went on. As they expanded into television projects, things seemed solid thanks to the success of shows like "WandaVision," but later on, critical duds like "Secret Invasion" left the MCU's reputation looking a little worse for wear. As the cinematic universe's complicated multiverse added more twists and turns, fans had to commit to watching hours upon hours of content in order to understand newer projects. These days, excitement for Marvel movies just isn't what it used to be.

Contrast that with Taylor Swift's cinematic achievements as of late, which actually surpassed one of the MCU's latest and biggest releases. When the star announced that the filmed version of the Eras Tour would hit theaters, ticket pre-sales outsold the Marvel juggernaut "Spider-Man: No Way Home" within just 24 hours. The MCU, at this point, kind of needs someone as big as Taylor Swift. Conversely, Taylor Swift definitely doesn't need the MCU.

The bottom line here is that Taylor Swift is, above all things, chaos incarnate. The woman simply loves an Easter egg, to the point where fans worry about "clowning" themselves when they think she's dropping hints about future projects or releases. Case in point: During the lead-up to Swift's 2019 album "Lover," fans figured out it would be released on Arbor Day due to the mere presence of trees in promotional material. 

A perfect recent example of this is when, during the final stretch of the Eras Tour's first U.S. leg, fans started buzzing about whether or not Swift would announce the release date of "1989 (Taylor's Version)." After Instagram posts involving blue dresses, conspicuous outfit changes during the tour, and a few well-placed Easter eggs in music videos, Swift announced the re-record during her final performance in Los Angeles, heralding the reveal with a handful of blue tour outfits. (As Swifties know, blue is considered the official hue of "1989.")

Fans weren't "clowning" themselves when it came to this, but they might be regarding Swift showing up in "Deadpool 3." Until the film's 2024 release, though, Swift and Ryan Reynolds will probably enjoy keeping everyone guessing. After all, Taylor Swift is, as she puts it on one of her closing tracks on the Eras Tour, a "mastermind."