Brad Pitt is one of the most sought-after and acclaimed actors of his generation, with fans regularly enlisting his talents when speculation begins for an iconic role. After years of hoping to see him join an iconic franchise, fans saw him (sort of) in last year’s Deadpool 2, portraying the “Vanisher,” named for his abilities to become invisible. Pitt only appeared momentarily, depicting Vanisher’s death scene where he became visible, leading fans to wonder if this cameo made him more interested in future superhero roles. Unfortunately for fans, the actor admitted that the appearance satisfied his curiosities when it came to the world of superhero cinema.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“I think I’ve taken it as far as I can take it,” Pitt revealed to MTV News about the role. “Ryan Reynolds came up with a part that I could fill.”
Superhero films regularly feature surprising Easter eggs and cameos, though those are often references to in-world characters and events. Pitt’s cameo, given its innocuous nature and how long audiences had hoped to see him in a superhero movie, made for one of Deadpool 2‘s biggest surprises. Making the role even more interesting is that the actor accepted the part in exchange for a cup of coffee from Reynolds.
“I was told all he wants is a cup of coffee and I said, ‘Like a franchise or just one individual cup of coffee?’” Reynolds previously revealed to Entertainment Tonight about the deal. “And I was told one individual cup of coffee, which was really his way of saying, ‘I’m doing it for nothing.’ And it was a total solid and the nicest thing anyone could do.”
While some audiences may have felt as though Pitt’s involvement was wasted on such a small appearance, Reynolds felt it was the perfect way to reflect the spirit of the absurd series.
“I just loved it, because what’s more irresponsible than taking one of the biggest movie stars in the world and giving him a role that is utterly wordless and invisible with an exception of three frames of film?” Reynolds joked. “Yeah, that’s kind of amazing.”
Between the character’s death and Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox putting the franchise’s future in jeopardy, we won’t expect to see any form of the Vanisher to appear anytime soon, though we won’t be quite as surprised if Pitt changes his mind about superhero films at some point in the future.
Would you like to see Pitt appear in another comic book movie? Let us know in the comments below!