The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly treating fans to new content, both in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. The latest movie release was Deadpool & Wolverine, which broke records at the box office. That threequel was full of wild cameos, including Henry Cavill as a variant of Wolverine. And while we can thank Ryan Reynolds for dubbing him "The Cavillrine", I wonder If we could thank him for a Superman reference that nearly happened.
Henry Cavill has been making jokes about a mustache reference in Deadpool 3, but he was mostly there to briefly pop up as an alternate take on Wolverine. Fans loved seeing this cameo, which Ryan Reynolds named "Cavillrine". But now some folks think that a sly Superman reference was nearly included. Let's break it all down.
Fans think they spotted a scrapped Superman reference in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Early during Deadpool 3's runtime, Ryan Reynolds' signature character goes searching for a Wolverine to help his universe from being destroyed. We see various fun elements, including a comic-accurate short king, as well as a Logan who is in the midst of fighting Hulk. Concept art for the Henry Cavill appearance recently appeared on Twitter, and fans think that the alternate costume might have been a purposeful nod to Superman. Check out the image below:
this was a quite a fun one when it landed in my hands to do some concept-ing, more in the upcoming artbook for Deadpool & Wolverine pic.twitter.com/G0zHXJjiTiAugust 13, 2024
A number of responses followed this tweet, which offered two different looks for Cavillrine. And some folks think that the red shirt was a way to acknowledge Cavill's tenure as Superman before his firing. One such response reads:
the red flannel on cavill would have been a nice nod. love the art!
Of course, there's no guarantee that Ryan Reynolds and company were trying to include a nod to Cavill's DC past (which is streaming with a Max subscription). We'll just have to see if Ryan Reynolds speaks out and confirms if this was the plan. Either way, the Witcher actor's appearance is one that will stay in the minds of fans.
How Ryan Reynolds Came Up With Cavillrine
For years, fans wanted to see Henry Cavill appear as Wolverine. This is no doubt why Ryan Reynolds approached the actor for a cameo, much like Channing Tatum finally got to play Gambit. During a conversation with EW about the blockbuster, director Shawn Levy revealed how the viral name "Cavillrine" came to be. In his words:
Ryan may have been a little more fluent in that. I was pretty ignorant of that dream-casting of the Cavill, but when we were working on this script, it was quite recently after the whole infamous meeting that Henry had at DC and the fact that he was no longer going to continue on as Superman. We were just thinking about how Deadpool movies are always in dialogue with culture, and it was really on the heels of that DC decision that Ryan and I were like, ‘Wait! How cool would that be?’
Henry Cavill had recently returned as Superman in Black Adam, before he was let go from the role as James Gunn formed a new DCU. And that seemingly opened the door for the team behind Deadpool & Wolverine to approach the actor about his MCU debut as a cameo. Later in that same interview, Levy explained how Ryan Reynolds came up with his new nickname, and why it was an important cameo to include in the MCU blockbuster. In his words:
Then as soon as Ryan dubbed it ‘the Cavillrine’ — which you'll note in the end credits is how Henry is credited...I'm really hoping that term sticks, even though Hugh Jackman's job does now feel quite secure — it was more in response to that and just being able to play with this whole perceived turf war between comic book labels and studios.
The Deadpool franchise has always pokes fun at both DC and Marvel, so it makes perfect sense that they'd address the Cavill firing by having him finally play Wolverine... even if he only got a few seconds of screen time.
Of course, there are fans who want to see Cavill play Captain Britain in the MCU. His small role in Deadpool 3 presumably wouldn't prevent that, but it's unclear if the 41 year-old actor is even interested in such a role.
Deadpool & Wolverine is in theaters now, complete with Cavillrine. While we wait for information about upcoming Marvel movies, check out the 2025 movie release dates.
