Becoming one of the biggest movies of the year as soon as it was released, Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine set a huge benchmark for both R-rated comic adaptations and for upcoming Marvel movies in general . The cameo-filled flick somehow managed to keep its most unexpected cast members from being spoiled through set photo leaks — an expected evil, per Kevin Feige — though Chris Evans’ return as Johnny Storm might have been leaked if paparazzi photographers in the area had a better sense of timing.
X-Men franchise actor Aaron Stanford, who reprised the villainous Pyro for Deadpool & Wolverine, appeared on the Phase Zero podcast and talked about his character’s initial exit and how it felt for him to jump back into such a large-scale mutant-filled movie. When asked how it happened that Evans wasn’t visible in any of the exterior set photos that were leaked, Stanford set the scene by saying:
So that whole thing was shot in the enormous Mad Max desert wasteland, and the reason that all the photos leaked is because it was like one place they were not able to secure, because it was outside. So like all of the paparazzi set up like half a mile away with telephoto lenses and got the shots. Because they just have to deliver those spoilers! They just gotta spoil it for everyone, man.
That all pretty much points out how easy it should have been for the photographers on the scene to catch a shot of Chris Evans in one costume or another. However, it turns out the filming of that scene wasn't exactly the most streamlined affair, thanks to the industry shutting down in mid-2023. As Stanford put it:
I think the reason you didn’t see Chris in that is because that very particular scene was split up pre-strike and post-Screen Actors Guild strike. So we were in there shooting the first part of that scene the very first day I worked, and that was the day that Chris worked. And we all went away for however many months it took to settle the strike, and when we came back, we shot the back end of that sequence. That was the day the paparazzi showed up, and Chris wasn’t there.
That would be like showing up for a big sale only to find the big item you want is already sold out, except none of the photographers would have been the wiser about the huge MCU vet who was walking around the set months prior. Now if any of them might have had access to Cable's time-travel device from Deadpool 2, they would have been able to jaunt back to the pre-strike production in order to peep out Chris Evans in his robes.
Even if Evans' presence had been readily known ahead of the film's release, I can't imagine anyone would have specifically guessed how things would play out, particularly when it comes to the credits scene and the amount of NSFW dialogue in his big rant. Plus, it also wouldn't have ruined Wesley Snipes' return as Blade. Nothing could ruin that one.
Deadpool & Wolverine is still in theaters, waiting for more of everyone's money, so head back for more until the next MCU movie arrives.
