Meet the cast of Deadpool & Wolverine led by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman

Hype around the movie has centred around a couple of things: the returns of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, and their official introduction into the MCU, as well as various wild and wacky cameos, including Channing Tatum as Gambit, Blake Lively as Lady Deadpool and Wesley Snipes as Blade.

Other guest appearances in Deadpool & Wolverine include the likes of Chris Evans's Johnny Storm, Dafne Keen as a grown-up X-23 and Jennifer Garner as Elektra.

And Robert Downey Jr. nearly made an appearance as Tony Stark in the film's long list of cameos, Deadpool & Wolverine's co-writers co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have revealed.

Speaking recently to IndieWire, the pair explained they that they weren't aware of Downey Jr's new role in Avengers: Doomsday and had asked him to appear in Deadpool & Wolverine.

"We wanted him to do a cameo," said Wernick. "Behind the scenes, we didn't know about the Doctor Doom. And there's no way he was going to do both.

"And then we said, 'Oh, Downey doesn't say no to Ryan Reynolds, does he? No one says no to Ryan Reynolds'. And Ryan gave him the hard press. We wrote scenes, and Downey read the scenes, but what we didn't know behind the scenes was this Doctor Doom thing."

Reese added: "I mean, Downey was the only no we've ever gotten, I think, in terms of people just saying, 'Hey, I don't want to do it'."

Reese went on to explain that they wanted Downey Jr to appear as Stark in a scene with Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), with the duo questioning Wade Wilson's "team player abilities".

Read on for everything you need to know about the cast, from MCU newcomers to actors from Fox’s X-Men and Deadpool, as well as for a list of the film's cameos (you'll need to scroll further down for this).

Deadpool & Wolverine cast: Full list of actors and characters in Deadpool 3

The full cast list is as follows:

• Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson / Deadpool
• Hugh Jackman as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine
• Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova
• Matthew Macfadyen as Mr Paradox
• Morena Baccarin as Vanessa Carlysle
• Rob Delaney as Peter
• Leslie Uggams as Blind Al
• Karan Soni as Dopinder
• Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead
• Stefan Kapičić as the voice of Colossus
• Dafne Keen as Laura/X-23
• Shioli Kutsuna as Yukio
• Randal Reeder as Buck
• Lewis Tan as Shatterstar
• Aaron Stanford as Pyro
• Tyler Mane as Sabretooth
• Jennifer Garner as Elektra Natchios
• Peggy the Dog as Dogpool

Read on for everything you need to know about the actors and who they're playing.

Ryan Reynolds plays Wade Wilson/Deadpool

Who is Wade Wilson/Deadpool? As the first film announced, Wade Wilson/Deadpool is "God's Perfect Idiot", an anti-hero with regenerative healing abilities. The wise-cracking anti-hero was previously in the Special Forces and, before taking on the Deadpool mantle, was an assassin for hire, although he's since begun to use his skills for (slightly) more honourable purposes. In Deadpool & Wolverine, we see a more emotional side of him.

Director Shawn Levy recently told RadioTimes.com that Reynolds's willingness to mock himself is key to the success of the Deadpool franchise.

He said: "I think the key with the Deadpool franchise, starting with the main titles, from Deadpool 1 starring God’s perfect idiot, is if you’re willing to mock yourself, you have license to do so much and Ryan has always had that willingness to make fun of himself first and foremost."

Where have I seen Ryan Reynolds before? Aside from his role as Wade Wilson, Reynolds is known for films including Free Guy, Bullet Train, The Adam Project, and The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard.

Hugh Jackman plays Wolverine

Who is Wolverine? A legend of the X-Men, Wolverine has been appearing in comic books since 1974. He's a mutant with ultra-keen senses, healing ability, and a skeleton enhanced with adamantium, which results in his signature retractable claws. He was last seen in the X-Men film Logan, which famously depicted his emotional death.

However, Levy recently teased to RadioTimes.com how the movie gets round this. He said: "As soon as Hugh said he was in, we knew that we had to protect Logan and we wanted to, frankly, acknowledge our reverence of that movie, not touch that ending, but also have some Deadpool audacious fun with it."

Levy added: "We acknowledge the events of Logan and we acknowledge the reverence for the movie Logan, and so I think it’s really clear that as a filmmaking team, there’s nothing but love and respect. But as a Deadpool movie, we are duty-bound to be subversive."

Where have I seen Hugh Jackman before? Aside from his role as Logan, Jackman is known for various roles across film including Jean Valjean in the 2017 version of Les Miserables, and PT Barnum in The Greatest Showman. In fact, it looks as though his role in The Greatest Showman is set to be referenced, due to one of the songs cropping up on the film's official soundtrack.

Emma Corrin plays Cassandra Nova

Who is Cassandra Nova? Cassandra is the twin sister of X-Men founder Charles Xavier. She is also a mummudrai, a parasitic life form born bodiless on the astral plane. In the comic books, Charles recognised his sister's evil presence and killed her, resulting in her being stillborn – however, the mummudrai that became Cassandra managed to adopt some of Charles's psionic powers and left her able to exit the womb and create a body for herself. Naturally, she then sought revenge on her brother. She's hell-bent on destruction and is set to cause havoc in the film.

As for what we can expect from Cassandra in Deadpool & Wolverine? Surprisingly, director Shawn Levy requested that Corrin did not think of her as a villain.

Corrin told The Guardian: “I was, like, what? Are you serious? After all that?”

Instead of a straight villain, Levy wanted Corrin to play Cassandra with unpredictability. Corrin has also said that Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka and Christoph Waltz’s portrayal of a Nazi officer in Inglourious Basterds were both references for the villain.

Where have I seen Emma Corrin before? Corrin is known for various roles in film and TV, including Princess Diana in season 4 of The Crown (a role which won them a Golden Globe), the films My Policeman and Lady Chatterley's Lover, and in the 2023 thriller miniseries A Murder at the End of the World.

Morena Baccarin plays Vanessa Carlysle

Who is Vanessa Carlysle? Vanessa is Wade's former fiancee. In Deadpool 2, Vanessa was shot and killed in a shock scene, but Wade was able to resurrect her after stealing Cable's Time Travel Device.

Where have I seen Morena Baccarin before? Baccarin is known for roles including Inara Serra in Firefly, Jessica Brody in Homeland, and Leslie Thompkins in Gotham.

Leslie Uggams plays Blind Al

Who is Blind Al? Blind Al is Wade's elderly roommate, a blind woman who puts up with none of his nonsense.

Where have I seen Leslie Uggams before? Early in her career, Uggams gained recognition for her role as Kizzy Reynolds in the miniseries Roots. As well as having an incredible career on stage, Uggams has appeared in Empire, Fallout, and the film American Fiction.

Karan Soni plays Dopinder

Who is Dopinder? Dopinder is a cab driver who became Deadpool's chauffeur and confidante.

Where have I seen Karan Soni before? Deadpool isn't Soni's only link to the MCU as he also previously voiced Pavitr Prabhakar / Spider-Man India in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. He's also appeared in the 2016 Ghostbusters film, in comedies like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Will & Grace, and in Abbott Elementary.

Matthew Macfadyen plays Mr Paradox

Who is Mr Paradox? Mr Paradox is an agent at the Time Variance Authority who is overseeing a project to destroy the Earth-10005. He's hoping to become the leader of the TVA by proving himself – but it doesn't matter who he destroys on his way.

Macfadyen recently told GamesRadar: “I wouldn’t call him a villain. I think he’s just a sort of I think he’s a terrible sort of apparatchik, who’s frustrated and disgruntled and probably is looking to improve his lot – and he has issues.”

Macfadyen added to ScreenRant: “He works for the TVA obviously, and I think he’s probably a sort of mid-management, slightly frustrated man. I’m worrying about saying too much. Disney are very strict, but he’s got a sort of weird, angry, ugly energy to him, and he’s quite charming as well, so yeah, he’s an interesting character.”

Where have I seen Matthew Macfadyen before? Macfadyen is known for varied roles across film and TV, from Mr Darcy in Pride & Prejudice to Tom Wambsgans in HBO's Succession. He's also known for roles in Ripper Street, Spooks, and Operation Mincemeat.

Brianna Hildebrand plays Negasonic Teenage Warhead

Who is Negasonic Teenage Warhead? Negasonic Teenage Warhead is a young mutant who can generate atomic bursts from her body. She and Colossus previously attempted to convince Deadpool to join the X-Men, with the anti-hero joining the pair of them on various missions.

Where have I seen Brianna Hildebrand before? Hildebrand is also known for her roles as Aurora in Lucifer and Elodie Davis in the show Trinkets.

Stefan Kapičić voices Colossus

Who is Colossus? Colossus is a mutant and a member of the X-Men. Despite his super strength and being able to transform himself into metallic form, he's a quiet and good-natured character – and was convinced he could get Deadpool to join the X-Men.

Where have I seen/heard Stefan Kapičić before? Kapičić began his career working on Serbian films and, more recently, has appeared in Better Call Saul and Love, Death & Robots.

Dafne Keen as Laura/X-23

Who is Laura/X23? Laura first appeared in 2017's Logan as a runaway mutant. Logan brings her to a scientist who explains that she was made from Wolverine's DNA, essentially making her his daughter. The film ends with Logan sacrificing himself so that Laura and the next generation of mutants can live. However, it seems the pair are now set to reunite.

Where have I seen Dafne Keen before? Keen is also known for roles including Lyra in His Dark Materials and Jecki Lon in The Acolyte.

Rob Delaney plays Peter

Who is Peter? Peter is a human who managed to make his way onto Deadpool's X-Force team. Peter and Wade are set to grow closer in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Delaney recently told RadioTimes.com: "There's more Peter in this film than there was in the second one. [Wade and Peter] are very close - it's not a relationship of equals, Deadpool drives the motorcycle and Peter's in the side-car so to speak. But Deadpool leans on Peter and Peter really cares quite a bit about Deadpool – they have a nice friendship!"

Levy also teased that Peter's ending in the film changed from how it was originally written, telling us: "There was a very small scene involving Peter towards the movie [that was cut] and we paid off Peter in a different way, ultimately, in the edit because we love us our Sugar Bear!"

Where have I seen Rob Delaney before? Delaney rose to fame as an internet personality before securing his own show on Comedy Central. Aside from his role in the Deadpool films, he's appeared in films like Hobbs and Shaw, The Hustle and Bombshell.

Shioli Kutsuna plays Yukio

Who is Yukio? Yukio is the girlfriend of Teenage Negasonic Warhead.

Where have I seen Shioli Kutsana before? Kutsana has also appeared in the film Murder Mystery, as well as the series Sanctuary and Invasion.

Aaron Stanford plays Pyro

Who is Pyro? Pyro is a mutant who can control fire (although he can't generate his own). He's appeared in X-Men films from the first one onwards.

Where have I seen Aaron Stanford before? Stanford, who's portrayed Pyro since X2, also appeared as Doug in the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes and as Birkhoff in Nikita.

Tyler Mane plays Sabretooth

Who is Sabretooth? Sabretooth is a mutant with enhanced senses, razor-sharp claws, superhuman strength and reflexes, and regenerative healing abilities.

Where have I seen Tyler Mane before? Mane is a retired professional wrestler and is also known for roles including Ajax in Troy, and Michael Myers in the remake of Halloween.

Randal Reeder as Buck

Who is Buck? Buck is a friend of Wade Wilson's, from his days as an assassin.

Where have I seen Randal Reeder before? Reeder has previously had roles in the films Idiocracy and 21 Jump Street, and has appeared in series like Sons of Thunder.

Peggy the Dog as Dogpool

Who is Dogpool? Dogpool is set to be a canine variant of Deadpool.

Where have I seen Peggy before? Peggy rose to fame after winning the title of Britain's ugliest dog. Deadpool & Wolverine is her acting debut.

Deadpool & Wolverine cameos: Who shows up?

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for the cameos in Deadpool & Wolverine.

• Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
• Blake Lively as Lady Deadpool
• Channing Tatum as Gambit
• Wesley Snipes as Blade
• Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch
• Henry Cavill as a Wolverine variant
• Matthew McConaughey as Cowboy Deadpool
• Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15/Verity Willis

Along the way, we also see various mutants including Juggernaut (not played by Vinnie Jones, who reportedly turned down the role), Azazel, Psylocke, Lady Deathstrike, Toad, Bullseye, and Quill.

Of course, we also see a brief montage of Avengers including Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) and Hulk on screen in the TVA.

Plus, it wouldn't be an MCU movie without a cameo from the late Stan Lee. The Marvel legend is seen on the side of a bus, advertising a company called Stanless Steelers.

Speaking of the cameos, director Levy recently told RadioTimes.com: "I'm thrilled to say that some of them are not predicted on the internet.

"I think my favourite ones are really ones that are not cameos, they are characters. And they are in these supporting roles that we didn't show you so far [in the section of the film shown at preview events] that somehow the world doesn't know about yet."

Wesley Snipes plays Blade

Who is Blade? Blade is a Marvel icon, a human with the powers of vampires. He had his own solo film in 1998, and the character is due to have a rebooted movie starring Mahershala Ali.

Snipes's appearance as Blade has proven to be a record-breaking one, with the actor bagging the titles of Longest Career as a Live-Action Marvel Character and Longest Gap Between Character Appearances in Marvel Films in the Guinness World Records!

"I did not think it was possible," Snipes, who first took on the role in the 1998 movie of the same name before reprising it in 2002’s Blade II and 2004’s Blade: Trinity, said of his return.

He continued to Entertainment Weekly: "I didn't think we would be able to pull it off. I didn't think that Marvel was into it, Disney was into it – also because they had Mahershala [Ali] cast for the next upcoming version of it… I thought it didn’t make sense to me, but [when] you get a call from Ryan Reynolds out of the blue after 20 years, you go, 'OK, I got to take this call. Let’s see what this is about.'

"He told me the idea… They said 'yes' and 'it’s a go'. 'If you’re in, we’re in.' Here we are."

Where have I seen Wesley Snipes before? Aside from his role as Blade, Snipes is known for films including Final Recall and Coming 2 America.

Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan

Who is Happy Hogan? The first cameo is a biggie, and someone we know well from the Avengers films – Happy Hogan! First appearing in the MCU as Tony Stark's driver, Happy's role has grown throughout the years, including as a liaison for Peter Parker (Tom Holland).

Where have I seen Jon Favreau before? Favreau has also appeared in films like Chef and The Wolf of Wall Street, and is an accomplished writer and director.

Henry Cavill plays a Wolverine variant

Who are the Wolverine variants? The Wolverine variants are different versions of Wolverine that Deadpool comes into contact with across the multiverse.

Taking to Instagram to address his cameo for the first time, Cavill recently shared an image of himself in character as The Cavillerine.

"To be safe, I shaved the moustache off for this one. Just the moustache. @SLevyDirect @VanCityReynolds @TheHughJackman #DeadpoolAndWolverine," he captioned the post, seemingly referencing the fact he couldn’t shave off his moustache when reshooting Justice League, as he had to keep it for his work on Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Instead, it was digitally removed in post-production.

Where have I seen Henry Cavill before? Cavill is best known for his role as Clark Kent/Superman from Man of Steel onwards. He's also known for his role as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher, and for films including Argylle and Enola Holmes.

Blake Lively plays Lady Deadpool

Who is Lady Deadpool? Lady Deadpool is a female variant of Deadpool from Earth-3010. She was seen in trailers wearing a mask and with a blonde ponytail, leading fans to wonder whether Reynolds's wife Blake Lively would be playing her, whether Taylor Swift might make an appearance in the movie, or if Reynolds himself would play the character in a wig. As it turns out, it was Blake...although she never took off her mask!

Where have I seen Blake Lively before? While fans didn't quite see Lively in the film, she's recognisable for a host of other roles including Serena van der Woodson in Gossip Girl, Emily Nelson in A Simple Favor, and Bridget in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Channing Tatum plays Gambit

Who is Gambit? Gambit is a mutant who can mentally create, control, and manipulate pure kinetic energy. The character was previously played by Taylor Kitsch, but had been linked to Channing Tatum for a solo film. The film was in development for years but never made it to release – so Deadpool & Wolverine marks the first time the actor has been able to play the role on screen.

Where have I seen Channing Tatum before? Tatum is known for roles including Magic Mike, and his roles in 21 and 22 Jump Street.

Jennifer Garner plays Elektra

Who is Elektra? Elektra is a highly trained assassin. She previously appeared in the 2005 film Elektra, and of course, the 2003 film Daredevil.

Where have I seen Jennifer Garner before? Garner is known for her roles in movies like 13 Going on 30, Dallas Buyers Club and Juno, as well as TV series like Alias.

Chris Evans plays Johnny Storm/The Human Torch

Who is Johnny Storm/The Human Torch? Johnny Storm is a founding member of the Fantastic Four, with Chris Evans playing the role in the 2005 film and its 2007 sequel before he was cast as Captain America.

Where have I seen Chris Evans before? Of course, Evans is also known for his career-defining role as Captain America, as well as starring in Knives Out, The Gray Man, and Scott Pilgrim vs the World.

Matthew McConaughey plays Cowboy Deadpool

Who is Cowboy Deadpool? Cowboy Deadpool is a variant of Deadpool. While we never see McConaughey properly, there's no mistaking that Southern drawl – and the credits confirm it's him, too.

Where have I seen Matthew McConaughey before? McConaughey is known for films including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Magic Mike, Dallas Buyers Club, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Gentlemen.

Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15/Verity Willis

Who is Hunter B-15/Verity Willis? First introduced in Loki, B-15/Verity is a former agent of the TVA.

Where have I seen Wunmi Mosaku before? She's also known for her roles in Luther, Vera, and Lovecraft Country.

Deadpool & Wolverine is out now.

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