The highly anticipated Deadpool and Wolverine promises to be filled with surprises, including the return of various X-Men characters from previous films. A new teaser has officially confirmed one such exciting cameo.
Wolverine’s longtime nemesis, Sabretooth, originally portrayed by Tyler Mane in live-action, makes his return in the latest footage released on Friday. As soon as he spots Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Sabretooth menacingly asks, “Ready to die?!”
Before the inevitable clash, Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool humorously intervenes, cleaning up his ally. “You look ridiculous,” remarks the red-suited Merc with a Mouth, as he removes numerous swords and knives from Wolverine’s adamantium-laced body. “People have waited decades for this fight. It’s not going to be easy.”
Jackman’s Wolverine and Mane’s Sabretooth first appeared together on the big screen in the 2000 film X-Men, directed by Bryan Singer. While Sabretooth is one of Logan’s most iconic adversaries in the comics, Mane hasn’t reprised the role in over two decades. In 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the character was portrayed by Liev Schreiber. Thus, when Deadpool quips about fans waiting decades for the Wolverine vs. Sabretooth showdown, he’s not exaggerating.
Although there have been various hints and rumors about other X-Men characters making appearances in Deadpool and Wolverine, only Aaron Stanford’s Pyro has been confirmed alongside Sabretooth. Stanford’s fire-controlling mutant was featured in 2003’s X2: X-Men United and 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Shawn Levy commented on the cameos, stating, “We didn’t start with a wishlist. From the beginning, we let the story dictate the characters. Aaron’s return as Pyro stemmed from that approach, and the same applies to most characters you’ll see in the movie.”
Deadpool and Wolverine is set years after the events of 2018’s Deadpool 2. Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson has retired from his superhero mercenary life and now works as a used car salesman. However, agents from the Time Variance Authority (introduced in the Disney+ series Loki) soon recruit him for a new mission led by their boss, Mr. Paradox (played by Matthew Macfadyen). This mission leads Deadpool to team up with an alternate-universe version of Wolverine (Jackman).
The film will also see the return of several beloved characters from previous Deadpool movies, including Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), Blind Al (Leslie Uggams), Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), Yukio (Shioli Kutsuna), Colossus (Stefan Kapičić), Peter/Sugar Bear (Rob Delaney), Dopinder (Karan Soni), and Shatterstar (Lewis Tan).
Deadpool and Wolverine is slated to hit theaters on July 26.
