Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for 'Deadpool & Wolverine'.
Former Captain America actor Chris Evans was one of many surprising cameos in Deadpool & Wolverine, but he didn't appear as Steve Rogers, whom fans last saw passing the mantle, er, shield to his successor Sam Wilson at the end of Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
In a fun multiversal twist, Evans was his Fantastic Four character Johnny Storm / Human Torch in a wild scene where Wade Wilson / Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds)—and the audience—initially seem to mistake him for Captain America when he and James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) first encounter him after Paradox sends them to The Void.
Before he became synonymous with Captain America, with ten MCU films as the patriotic superhero under his belt, Evans' first Marvel character was Johnny Storm in 2005's Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, both of which were released through 20th Century Fox before its 2019 acquisition by the Walt Disney Company.
To commemorate his involvement in Deadpool & Wolverine—the latest Marvel juggernaut that made $500 million at the international box office over the debut weekend—Evans posted a behind-the-scenes photo on his Instagram story, and it was lit.
The 43-year-old Knives Out actor shared an on-set group photo including him in his Fantastic Four uniform joined by the two leads, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman alongside director Shawn Levy.
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In the caption, Evans expressed gratitude for being included in the film, writing:
“Thank you to Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and Shawn Levy for letting me be a part of such an incredible movie!"
"They’re three of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet."
"Special thank you to Ryan for making it all happen."
Evans added that reprising his role as Johnny Storm was "a dream come true" and that the character will "always have a special place" in his heart.
Since the MCU first introduced and applied the concept of the multiverse in 2016's Doctor Strange, there have been countless opportunities for main character variants and superhero franchise crossovers in successive MCU films.
Unfortunately for Johnny Storm, appearing in Deadpool & Wolverine was the end of the line for his character—that is unless, of course, he is resurrected from another timeline via the Time Variance Authority (TVA) in a future MCU film where various plot combinations and scenarios are vast.
In Deadpool & Wolverine, the Merc with the Mouth is responsible for causing the death of Johnny when he tries to save his own skin—literally, as we come to find—during a perilous predicament.
When Wade, Logan, and Johnny are captured and taken to the nefarious Cassandra Nova—played by The Crown's Emma Corrin—Wade throws Johnny under the bus, revealing that the founding Fantastic Four member was bad-mouthing her behind her back.
This prompts Cassandra to use her wicked powers to de-skin Johnny in a flash, killing him.
Although his scene was short-lived, seeing Evans reprise his previous Marvel character was a highlight for many fans.
Fans were eating up Johnny's call to action when they were expecting Captain America to rally the Avengers.
The floors inside theaters across America would never be the same.
Following the announcement of a new reboot of The Fantastic Four, Evans passed the torch, so to speak, to his successor, Stranger Things actor Joseph Quinn, to portray Johnny Storm.
For the reboot, Quinn will be joined by film stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (the Invisible Woman), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (the Thing)—all of whom were featured in a first look group selfie shared by Pascal on Instagram.
The new film will be part of Phase 6 of the MCU, and it is slated for a July 25, 2025 release.
In addition to audiences being treated to seeing Evans, the sequel to Deadpool and Deadpool 2 also featured Jennifer Garner as Elektra Natchios from the Daredevil films; Channing Tatum's Remy LeBeau / Gambit, the titular character for the abandoned production that Tatum was attached to star; and Wesley Snipes' Vampire Hunter from the Blade franchise, currently bogged down in a reboot drama that prompted Snipes to throw shade.
The biggest reveal that had been kept under wraps ahead of the threequel's release was Dafne Keen’s reprisal of Laura Kinney / X-23 from the 2017 superhero film Logan.
Other cameo highlights involved dozens of celebrities who donned Deadpool suits and lent their voices as variants of the Merc with the Mouth, who are sent through the Portal by Cassandra to kill Wade and Logan, resulting in a ridiculously gory third-act battle scene befitting of the Disney movie's R-rating.
Notable mentions involved in the scene included Reynolds' wife, Gossip Girl actor Blake Lively, as "Lady Deadpool"; Tom Holland's younger brother, Harry, as "Haroldpool"; Matthew McConaughey as "Cowboy Deadpool"; Reynolds and Lively's 7-year-old daughter, Inez, as "Kidpool"; Firefly actor Nathan Fillion as the floating head "Headpool"; and Paul Mullin, a soccer player on the Wrexham A.F.C. football team owned by Reynolds, as "Welshpool".
That doesn't even cover all the easter eggs, additional variants, and fourth-wall-breaking references crammed into the film's 128-minute running time in this riotous romp through The Void and back with Deadpool and friends.
To discover more fun surprises in store, you'll have to watch Deadpool & Wolverine in theaters for the ultimate moviegoing event of 2024.
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