Deadpool & Wolverine Director Confirms Taylor Swift Cameo Was “Never a Conversation”

Deadpool & Wolverine is crushing the box office, breaking records, and giving the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise a much-needed spark of life. However, despite all the fun cameos the film throws at viewers, one of the biggest rumored appearances never happens. 

Taylor Swift’s name has been attached to Deadpool & Wolverine for almost as long as Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds’ names have. Now that the film is in theaters, director Shawn Levy is addressing whether or not Marvel fans ever had a hope of seeing Swift play Dazzler in Deadpool & Wolverine:

“It was never a conversation. It was never even a seed of a discussion,” Shawn Levy told EW. “Obviously, Ryan and Blake –  and myself, to a far lesser extent – have our own relationships in real life with Taylor. But, yeah, those rumors were loud and slightly baffling, but nothing I said or did was going to make them quiet down until this movie came out.”

Levy also explained how the online rumors about Taylor Swift as Dazzler in Deadpool & Wolverine became so rampant that it made him anxious to be delivering that moment in the actual film: 

“I definitely had moments where I was worried I would disappoint people when they realized Taylor as Dazzler was not in the movie,” Levy said. “But there’s no controlling the internet and rumors spread like wildfire.”

Levy touches upon a point that’s been a growing phenomenon within the fandom process: fan theories become fan expectations, which then shape fan reactions to the actual movies and TV shows that come out. So, there is legitimate reason for Levy and others involved with Deadpool & Wolverine to have been concerned about possible backlash from Swift fans – who would come away from opening day disappointed in something that never should been expected in the first place. 

For her part, Taylor Swift has taken her MCU fan-casting (and so many other rumors) in good stride. When Deadpool & Wolverine was released, Swift made a post celebrating her friends’ work – while making sure to also troll Ryan Reynolds, for good measure: 

“Over the past few years, I have watched one of my best friends on this planet pour every bit of his heart, soul, sweat, time, energy, jokes, pain, joy, rebellion darkness, and magic into this film,” Swift wrote. “He’s created the best work of his life, and this film feels like an actual joy portal, a wild escape from reality, and an ab sandwich. I don’t know how he did it. But that’s just Hugh for you!”

Deadpool & Wolverine is now in theaters.