Deadpool & Wolverine’ Got Henry Cavill Sick, ‘X-Men’ Plans Uncertain

Henry Cavill is sick over Wolverine, director Shawn Levy says, and the future of Marvel’s main X-Men member is uncertain.

After years of setbacks, rewrites, and fourth-wall-breaking teases, Ryan Reynolds finally got his wish: Wade Wilson, AKA Deadpool, facing off against Logan, AKA Wolverine. Reynolds and the powers-that-be at Marvel Studios were somehow able to convince Hugh Jackman to return as the iconic comic book character after officially announcing his retirement from playing Wolverine with Logan (2017), the critically acclaimed film by director James Mangold.

The result was Deadpool & Wolverine, Marvel Studios’ most financially successful film in quite some time, and the official introduction of the X-Men into the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe. Like Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), the latest MCU film saw Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) encountering different Variants of Marvel icons and having to rescue the world from a cosmic danger.

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This time around, audiences got to catch up with a whole lot of characters from the Fox franchise of Marvel Comics adaptations, including Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, Jennifer Garner as Elektra, Wesley Snipes as Blade, Dafne Keen as X-23/Laura, and even Channing Tatum as Gambit, the X-Man who never was. We also got to see a plethora of Variants of Logan, which allowed for cheeky references to the character’s canonical height, the Age of Apocalypse story arc, Madripoor, Old Man Logan, and even the Hulk.

To the surprise of many (but not us), Deadpool also encountered one Wolverine variant played by Henry Cavill, the British actor best known for portraying Superman in the Zack Snyder DC Extended Universe. Shawn Levy (who co-wrote the film with Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells) commented to the New York Times that:

Can I please point out that Ryan brilliantly named Henry Cavill’s Logan “the Cavillrine”? In the case of Henry, it was not long after everything went down with DC and word came that Henry was being replaced as Superman. Given that Deadpool is in constant conversation with culture, it felt like a great opportunity to first of all cast Henry Cavill in a part that he would kick ass at, but also to poke fun at that other comic-book-founded movie studio and play with some self-awareness there.

Marvel fans have already begun discussing the possibility that Henry Cavill could play the new MCU version of Wolverine in future installments of the franchise, given that it still seems very unclear whether Jackman would return once again. Unfortunately, Levy also revealed that Cavill seemed to have a pretty noxious time trying to portray the character, which may make it unlikely that he will be back.

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Levy continued, saying, “Henry Cavill, who not only had that pumped-up muscular body but kept that cigar lit and in his mouth for the entirety of the shoot day. I remember hearing the next day that Henry was sick to his stomach because he had been inhaling cigar smoke for eight hours straight, but never once did he waver.”

Good on Henry Cavill for not breaking down after inhaling cigar smoke (which one is not supposed to do while smoking a cigar, but regardless) during a shoot, but that’s not exactly a hopeful sign for the return of the Cavillrine. It is not known whether his appearance will be a one-off, but in the Marvel Multiverse of casting, who can say?

Jackman has not yet committed to further appearances as Wolverine in the MCU, and even Ryan Reynolds seems noncommittal about returning as Deadpool. Most likely, this is just strategy from movie stars trying to keep their contracts fresh, but it’s funny how a cigar could possibly throw a wrench in the whole thing.

Do you want Henry Cavill to return as Wolverine?