Even judging by the standards, context, and history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, how many cameos is too many? Depending on how the latest addition to the rumor mill pans out, we may be getting an answer when Deadpool 3 arrives in theaters.
The returns of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Jennifer Garner’s Elektra – along with almost the entire principal cast of the first two 20th Century Fox installments – has already given the MCU’s first R-rated adventure a warm and fuzzy glow of nostalgia, and given the multiversal nature of the project it’s reasonable to expect that there’s going to be a couple of surprise guests dropping by for an appearance.
However, a report from The DisInsider naming no less than 17 people as purportedly being on tap for Deadpool 3‘s cavalcade of cameos seems like way too many, unless of course the plan is for them to feature in a similar fashion to the X-Men cast’s ingenious spot in Deadpool 2 that had them lurking in the background without saying a word for the sake of a throwaway gag.
For what it’s worth, the alleged roster includes figures from the past, present, hypothetical future, and even the never was of Marvel Comics adaptations, along with a spot for Ryan Reynolds’ close friend Taylor Swift as mutant songstress Dazzler.
In addition, Brian Cox’s William Striker, Halle Berry’s Storm, Owen Wilson’s Mobius, Famke Jensen’s Jean Grey, Lewis Tan’s Shatterstar, Channing Tatum’s Gambit, Ben Affleck’s Daredevil, Taron Edgerton’s Wolverine, Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff, Tara Strong’s Miss Minutes, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Dafne Keen’s X23, Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique, Julian McMahon’s Doctor Doom, Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, and Ian McKellen’s Magneto are all named, which sounds like whatever the level above overkill is.
Of course, the outlet itself notes that none of this is confirmed, but if even half of it rings true, then Deadpool 3 is already the movie everybody thought Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was going to be.
