Deadpool & Wolverine Scenes That Were Left On The Cutting Room Floor

"Deadpool & Wolverine" blew everyone away at the box office and danced into the hearts of viewers around the globe, combining crowd-pleasing cameos and blood-splattering action with a wicked sense of R-rated humor. While the film feels packed to the brim and makes full use of its 128-minute runtime, it could have had even more memorable moments had the filmmakers and other parties not said "bye bye bye" to several scenes and concepts. So, what exactly was left on the proverbial cutting room floor? Quite a bit, actually.

From Wade Wilson meeting a famous Avenger to Deadpool fighting a real-life animal in the film, a number of potentially mind-blowing segments didn't make the final cut. As fans, it remains interesting to ponder what could have been and if these additions might have helped to address some of the biggest unanswered questions in "Deadpool & Wolverine." Even if they added nothing from a narrative perspective, they sure would have been fun to see. Let's take a look at some of the stuff that didn't make it.

In the early stages of "Deadpool & Wolverine," Wade Wilson meets Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan in 2018, with the intention of joining the Avengers and bringing meaning to his life. While they discuss Tony Stark, the man known as Iron Man doesn't show up in the film — except through archival footage shown on the monitors at the Time Variance Authority. Many fans wondered if the scene where Wade pitches himself to become an Avenger was meant to include Mr. Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., at any point in time. They received their answer when "Deadpool & Wolverine" co-writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese confirmed the existence of a "Downey draft" to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Ryan [Reynolds] wrote a Downey scene, and it was the two of them," Reese said. "And then the feeling was, if Downey either decides not to do it, or if Marvel decides not to have him do it, or for whatever reason it doesn't work out, [it would then] be tailored for Happy Hogan. Jon was amazing about it. He hung in there while it was still undetermined for a little while, and then ultimately, he was very gracious about having it expand out a little bit." The pair disclosed that they don't know for sure why the Downey idea was knocked back, but they assume that it likely had something to do with Robert Downey Jr.'s MCU upcoming return as Doctor Doom for "Avengers: Doomsday."

The cameos in "Deadpool & Wolverine" tickle all the sweet spots, as heroes and villains from yesteryear return for one last hurrah. The latter feels slightly weaker, though, as not many of the original actors who portrayed the roles appear in the film. One notable absentee is Vinnie Jones, who plays the Juggernaut in 2006's "X-Men: The Last Stand." Instead, Aaron W. Reed portrays a version of this character in "Deadpool & Wolverine." Was Jones ever set to put on the dome-shaped helmet again? According to director Shawn Levy, there were talks, even if they didn't last too long.

Jones confirmed this in a March 2024 interview with Yahoo! UK. While fans might have thought he was lying through his teeth like Andrew Garfield did about his participation in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," Jones proved himself to be a reliable source of information. At the time, he said: "I spoke to the director and I just said it's such a drama putting that suit on mentally and physically. I mean, it had its mental toll as well because you're in it and you can't do anything all day, you can only drink through a straw. So we couldn't strike a deal for ['Deadpool & Wolverine']."

Marvel Comics fans love a good Fastball Special, a move invented by Wolverine and Colossus that has been copied many times over the years — it's when a super-strong hero tosses a comrade at high speed. Colossus and Wolverine's beloved tag-team move transcended to the live-action world in "X-Men: The Last Stand," with the brawny X-Man hurling Logan at a Sentinel during a Danger Room training simulation. The maneuver almost showed up again in "Deadpool & Wolverine," as revealed in a behind-the-scenes video of the battle sequence in which Deadpool and Wolverine face off against Cassandra Nova's many goons. 

Posting the video on X (formerly known as Twitter), Ryan Reynolds wrote: "A few people asked if we were tempted to try a 'Fastball Special.' The answer is yes. Except instead of throwing Deadpool or Wolvie, we chucked this guy... it didn't make the cut, sadly." The slow-motion scene sees Wade Wilson and Logan grab hold of one of the nameless villains and launch him into the air — all set to the tune of Celine Dion's irrepressible song "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." It's a beautiful, full-circle moment that would have tied in nicely with Dion's past contribution to the "Deadpool 2" soundtrack.

Internet commentators provide the wildest and most hilarious suggestions. In 2019, for example, a Change.org petition to make Danny DeVito the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Wolverine received over 63,000 signatures from fans. Expectedly, when rumors surfaced that variants could feature in "Deadpool & Wolverine," the internet ran away with all the possibilities, including the debut of the fabled and fearsome DeVitorine.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese dispelled and confirmed a few rumors about what fans could have seen. Wernick mentioned that DeVito was a consideration to appear in the scene in which Deadpool travels the multiverse and meets the various Logan variants. Essentially, he would have played the smaller, more comic book-accurate version of the character. Reese added: "It was pitched, yeah. And ultimately it was thought it was just funnier to see Hugh [Jackman]. A short version of Hugh was funnier, and that was inspired, obviously, other than by the comics that was inspired by Tim Conway's 'Dorf on Golf.'"

While the possibility of the DeVitorine was on the table, the writers confirmed that Daniel Radcliffe — another actor mooted as a serious contender to become the MCU's Wolverine — was never in line for a cameo.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney remain glued at the hip ever since they purchased the Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC in 2020. Not only do they star in the "Welcome to Wrexham" series, but they also hang out a lot in real life, to the point that everyone presumes they're besties. Many fans speculated that McElhenney would feature in "Deadpool & Wolverine" somehow — perhaps even as a Deadpool variant.

While the rumors of McElhenney's participation in the film turned out to be true, he was actually cast as a TVA agent. Unfortunately, viewers didn't get to see McElhenney on screen, since the scene was cut, as the actor confirmed on X. Posting a picture of himself in TVA agent attire and holding Wolverine's claws while Hugh Jackman smiles at him, McElhenney poked fun at how he traveled so far to film a cameo that never made it into the movie.

Speaking more about it to Variety, McElhenney said he didn't know the reason his performance had been cut from the film, but he hoped Marvel Studios would give him and Reynolds permission to use it in "Welcome to Wrexham." He added: "I know that there was a lot of visual effects that were supposed to go into the sequence, and we thought it would be funny, because obviously that might be the reason that it got cut — because it's probably too expensive."

"Percy Jackson and the Olympians" star Walker Scobell collaborated with Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy on "The Adam Project." While working together, Scobell made no secret of his love for Deadpool, showcasing his ability to quote the dialogue effortlessly. In September 2022, Levy said that Scobell wanted a part in "Deadpool & Wolverine." Considering how Scobell played a younger version of Reynolds' character in "The Adam Project," it wouldn't be too difficult to see him as a younger Deadpool variant, such as Kidpool. Ultimately, Scobell didn't appear in "Deadpool & Wolverine" — the role of Kidpool was filled by Reynolds and Blake Lively's daughter Inez.

In August 2024, Levy told Entertainment Weekly that Scobell had been in the mix for Kidpool, but he outgrew the part — quite literally. "It was his dream," Levy said. "Ryan and I reached out to him once we realized he was now going to be too old, both too tall and with his voice too low. Puberty is what it is, and all the Hollywood dreams in the world can't stop it. So we did call Walker and explain why he couldn't be Kidpool, and he was completely understanding."

Deadpool's debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes with a brand-new, brighter suit than the one he wore in the past two films. In "Deadpool & Wolverine," Wade Wilson receives his new threads from a questionable tailor and demonstrates his costume's sleekness by posing seductively as the elevator door opens. However, a different version of this scene features in the official teaser trailer for the film.

In the unused scene, Wade unveils his costume's flexible qualities by doing the splits before expressing his sheer delight about the suit. Or so it seems — maybe his joy has nothing to do with the elasticity and it's all a subtle homage to Jean-Claude Van Damme that no one has figured out yet. After all, Wade appears to be the kind of guy who would appreciate a mulletted Van Damme punching out a cheeky snake in "Hard Target."

When ranking every MCU movie's opening scene from worst to best, it's now very hard not to put "Deadpool & Wolverine" at the top, purely because of Wade Wilson's inspired dance moves to NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye." Unfortunately, Wolverine doesn't receive the opportunity to show off his happy feet in the movie, which is a shame considering Hugh Jackman's theater background and musical pedigree. However, according to Ryan Reynolds, there was actually a plan to let Jackman get footloose in a "Deadpool & Wolverine" scene that didn't make it to screen.

At a press conference promoting the film (via GamesRadar+), Jackman discussed some of the wild rumors surrounding the third "Deadpool" installment, jokingly saying that his character was meant to sing and dance in a nude scene. Reynolds then jumped in to add that there was actually some truth to this — just without the nudity aspect. "[In] an earlier pitch of the film, there was a dance number with [Jackman] set to Elton John's 'I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues,'" Reynolds revealed.

Knowing Deadpool's wacky and unpredictable nature, is anyone surprised that he has faced off against brain-hungry zombies in Marvel Comics? In "Night of the Living Deadpool," the Merc with a Mouth finds himself in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. It's part of the Marvel Zombies subsection of the Marvel Universe, in which pretty much everyone transforms into a ghastly member of the undead. As it turns out, before Hugh Jackman returned as Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds wanted to battle zombies in the third act of "Deadpool & Wolverine."

"He pitched this idea of Deadpool versus Zombies," Paul Wernick told The Hollywood Reporter, "and he pitched this final scene, the climax of the movie being Deadpool, going down the line and to Madonna's 'Like a Prayer' and wantonly killing zombies." Wernick explained that as the script progressed, the zombie concept developed into the big battle against the Deadpool Corps, which appears in the final version of the movie. However, it appears that part of Reynolds' original plan remains intact: There's a body-less zombie variant known as Headpool, voiced by Nathan Fillion.

After Wade Wilson and Logan escape from Alioth's wrath and traverse the Void looking for members of the resistance, Wolverine sniffs out an abandoned diner where they stop for some food and drink. In this scene, Wolvie and the Merc with a Mouth converse — well, that's a loose way of putting it, since Deadpool does most of the talking for the both of them. The final cut of "Deadpool & Wolverine" lacks a hilarious part from this scene that featured in a trailer released on Best Friends Day.

In the humorous exchange, Wolverine asks a maskless Deadpool: "You mind putting your mask back on?" Wade replies: "Super hard to eat while I'm wearing it." Without missing a beat, Logan claps back: "It's super hard to eat when you're not." For what appears to be the first time in his life, Wade is speechless. The exchange allows Logan to hit Wade with an absolute zinger, but its presence isn't sorely missed in the overall context of the film, with Wolverine receiving more than enough screen time to deliver verbal jabs aplenty.

"Deadpool & Wolverine" pulls out all the stops for its cameos. From Wesley Snipes' Blade and Chris Evans' Johnny Storm to Jennifer Garner's Elektra, Dafne Keen's X-23, and Channing Tatum's debut as Gambit, there's no shortage of "woah" moments in the film. That said, comic book movie fans never appear to have their thirst for cameos fully quenched, so there were people who wondered where in the world was Nicolas Cage's Ghost Rider in all this chaos? Speaking to Collider, Ryan Reynolds confirmed that "Deadpool & Wolverine" planned to uncage Johnny Blaze from movie purgatory and to let the Spirit of Vengeance ride again.

While Reynolds remained coy about the finer details and why it didn't happen, he said it "came to a conversation for sure," adding: "Yeah, but no." The idea of Cage's return as Ghost Rider might have been more far along than most people imagine, though, since artist Rodney Fuentebella posted concept art he made for "Deadpool & Wolverine" on his Instagram account. The illustration shows Deadpool, Wolverine, Blade, Elektra, the Human Torch, and Ghost Rider battling against a horde of Deadpool variants — including the beloved Dinopool. Among the plethora of red costumes, eagle-eyed fans might also spot another familiar face: Ben Affleck's Daredevil!

Deadpool's search for the perfect Wolverine variant to help save his universe sees him encounter a number of Logans, who hand him vicious beatings along the way. From Weapon X unleashing a brutal beatdown to Old Man Logan putting holes in the Merc with a Mouth, Wade goes through a whole lot during his search for the one Wolverine who will aid him. It turns out that his multiversal battles against various Wolverines could have taken another radical turn had more time been available for the filmmakers.

Appearing on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, "Deadpool & Wolverine" director Shawn Levy explained how everyone grappled with the decision over which variants to choose for the scene. There was one idea they all particularly liked, but ran out of time in the end. "We really, really wanted an actual wolverine — the animal — and he would maul Deadpool," Levy said. "But we came up with that idea too late to do a convincing digital wolverine, so that one is in my back pocket should I need one for any sequels."

To find out more about the various versions of Wolverine that actually show up in the film, check out our article detailing every variant of Logan who appears in "Deadpool & Wolverine."