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Warning: The following article contains spoilers for some major cameos in Deadpool & Wolverine.
There are many reasons to love the brilliant Deadpool & Wolverine, from its irreverent humor and epic action to its many Easter eggs and cameos. Some of the more memorable cameos include Wesley Snipes as Blade, Jennifer Garner as Elektra, Dafne Keen as X-23, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm, and Jason Flemyng as Azazel.
However, they all had one thing in common: all of those actors had played all of those characters before. That meant one cameo in particular stood out from the others. Channing Tatum played Gambit in the movie — a role he’d signed on for previously but one that never came to fruition. It brought to life a casting many fans celebrated but didn’t get to see.
That got us thinking. Now that Deadpool & Wolverine has opened the door to countless other castings that never happened potentially coming to life in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s multiversal future, which ones would we love to see? Let’s get into it.
10. David Duchovny as the Hulk
Several actors have played the Hulk and Bruce Banner on screen over the years — Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, Eric Bana, Edward Norton, and Mark Ruffalo have all brought the shy scientist and his angry green alter-ego to life — but one nearly-casting in particular is intriguing. The X-Files’ David Duchovny almost played the eponymous character in 2003’s Hulk. It ultimately went to Bana, but it’d be great to see Duchovny play a multiversal version of the character in the MCU.
9. Tom Cruise as Iron Man
Tom Cruise was considered for the role of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in the MCU but turned it down because he didn’t think the character would work on film (big mistake). Many then expected him to play a variant of the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. That didn’t happen either, so it’d be great to finally see him play a version of Stark in the future.
8. Dougray Scott as Wolverine
Believe it or not, Dougray Scott was originally cast as Wolverine in X-Men. Unfortunately for him, he had to pull out due to a scheduling conflict with Mission: Impossible 2. The rest is history, as Hugh Jackman has made the role his own. It would be nice, however, to see Scott given a chance to play an (older) version of the character in the MCU.
7. Emily Blunt as Black Widow
Emily Blunt was considered for the role of Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanoff, in the MCU but missed out because Iron Man 2 was filming simultaneously with Gulliver’s Travels (which she was contracted to but didn’t want to do). It would be cool to get Blunt’s Black Widow as a multiversal variant now that Scarlett Johansson’s version has passed away.
6. John Krasinski as Captain America
Emily Blunt’s husband, John Krasinski, lost out to Chris Evans to become the MCU’s Captain America, aka Steve Rogers. Having now played a multiversal variant of Reed Richards in the franchise, it’d be cool to see him play a multiversal variant of Rogers, too — after all, Evans himself has now played two different characters in the franchise (technically three if you count the brief moment Loki disguised himself as Steve Rogers in Thor: The Dark World), following his appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine.
5. Jason Momoa as Drax
We’ve seen Superman himself, Henry Cavill, play a variant of Wolverine in the MCU, so there’s no reason another DCEU actor couldn’t appear in the franchise. Jason Momoa — who, of course, played Aquaman in the DCEU — turned down the role of Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy because he didn’t want to be typecast as a brute. The role went to Dave Bautista, who more than did it justice, but Momoa as a variant would still be cool.
4. Danny DeVito as Rocket
Danny DeVito is superhero movie royalty, having played the Penguin so ironically in 1992’s Batman Returns. However, he also did a voice test for the role of Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy. Bradley Cooper ultimately got the job, but a version of Rocket from an alternate reality voiced by DeVito would work so well.
3. Joaquin Phoenix as Doctor Strange
It seems like a waste to have such an immensely talented actor as Joaquin Phoenix merely cameo as a multiversal variant of an existing MCU character. Still, it would be a nice nod to the fact that he was touted for Benedict Cumberbatch’s iconic role for years. Having already played the Joker in a DC movie, this would further prove Phoenix’s incredible versatility.
2. Steven Yeun as Sentry
Steven Yeun is one of the more recent actors to miss out on a Marvel role he’d been cast to play. The Walking Dead star was set to play Sentry in Thunderbolts*, but dropped out due to a scheduling conflict caused by the movie’s delayed production. The role went to Lewis Pullman, but having Yeun return to the MCU as a Sentry variant would be a nice touch.
1. Janet Jackson as Storm
Now that multiversal variants are a thing in the MCU, the opportunity is there for some wild castings — and few would be wilder than casting Janet Jackson as Storm. Jackson was asked to play the weather-controlling mutant in X-Men, but she couldn’t because she was embarking on the Janet tour. The role went to Halle Berry (and later Alexandra Shipp as a younger version of the character), but having Jackson turn up in the MCU as Storm would be amazing.