What Convinced Henry Cavill to Cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine?

Henry Cavill’s cameo in “Deadpool & Wolverine” initially sparked disbelief among fans. The former “Superman” actor made a brief but memorable appearance as a Wolverine variant. During this cameo, Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds, seeks to replace his universe’s version of the superhero to save their timeline. Cavill’s character, whom Deadpool dubs “Cavillrine,” is working on a big bike when Deadpool approaches, showering him with praise. The surly, cigar-chomping Cavillrine quickly dismisses Deadpool, forcing him to continue his multiverse quest elsewhere.

To explain how Henry Cavill, closely linked with a different cinematic universe, agreed to take on this role, “Deadpool & Wolverine” director Shawn Levy shared insights in an interview with Variety. “If we’re going to talk about him, we must call him by his actual credited name, the [Cavillrine], which Ryan coined,” Levy explained. Levy noted that Cavill readily accepted the role because it was subversive and playful while showing affection for Cavill’s body of work. It also played with Cavill’s legacy as a DC hero, now appearing as a Marvel variant.

Shawn Levy provided more details about Henry Cavill’s cameo during an appearance on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast with Josh Horowitz. Levy praised Cavill’s dedication during filming, describing how the actor remained committed despite physical challenges. “He was jacked up, and he had that disgusting cigar in his mouth for hours,” Levy recalled. He mentioned that the combination of oxygenated muscles and lack of actual oxygen led Cavill to possibly feel sick, but he was a trooper and performed fabulously.

Though Cavill has not spoken much about his brief role, he did make a humorous reference to it on Instagram. Posting a screenshot of his character, he captioned, “To be safe, I shaved the moustache off for this one. Just the moustache.” This caption humorously nods to the infamous mustache controversy during his time in the DC Extended Universe, when his ‘stache was digitally removed in “Justice League” with less-than-stellar results.

The death of Wolverine at the end of 2017’s “Logan” seemed to definitively close the chapter on the character. Initially, Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige was hesitant to feature Hugh Jackman again in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Jackman did reprise his role for “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the question remains: what if Jackman had chosen not to return? Could Henry Cavill have been a suitable Wolverine?

Ryan Reynolds addressed this in an interview with Collider, acknowledging the difficulty of recasting Wolverine. “I can’t think of a more impossible and frustrating role to recast than Wolverine,” Reynolds said. However, if circumstances had required it, Reynolds believed Cavill would have been a strong alternative. “If you had to do it and replace the guy who’s made it canon, in every way, on-screen and off, Henry Cavill would be pretty good!”