Deadpool & Wolverine writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick revealed that an Iron Man sequence ended up falling on the cutting room floor. IndieWire talked to both of these longtime Ryan Reynolds collaborators about plans to get Robert Downey Jr. into the biggest movie of the year. Reese told them, “Ryan Reynolds read the scene with both of them, so in the hopes we could get Downey. But he also wanted Favreau, because they’re a great combo, and they were all in the scene together.” So, it seems like those Internet rumors about the Iron Man star making a cameo were not just hot air. Getting Downey to read those lines alongside Reynolds must have been a thrill. But, unfortunately, we’ll probably never see it.
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“Behind the scenes, we didn’t know about the Doctor Doom. And there’s no way he was going to do both. And then we said, ‘Oh, Downey doesn’t say ‘no’ to Ryan Reynolds, does he? No one says no to Ryan Reynolds.’” Wernick wondered. “And Ryan gave him the hard press. We wrote scenes, and Downey read the scenes, but what we didn’t know behind the scenes was this Doctor Doom thing.”
Reese would elaborate how the proposed scene would have been like the Avengers Tower moment in Deadpool & Wolverine. “It was a version of what you saw in the sense that he rejected Wade. He just said he wasn’t a team player or whatever and questioned his team-player abilities. So it was actually pretty close to the scene that you saw. It just had two guys instead of one,” the writer added. “And then Jon [Favreau] was, graciously, connected to it from the start. It worked out great. I mean, look, we would’ve loved to have Downey. But, at the same time, I think Marvel had this ace in their hole, which is he’s about to come back in this different character. So, to have him be Tony Stark? Knowing that Doctor Doom was coming on the heels of that? It just didn’t make sense.”
Favreau Still Showed Up Though.
Even though they couldn’t secure that Iron Man cameo. They did get Happy Hogan to come through. Reynolds took a second to thank Jon Favreau on social media this week. It was still a fun surprise for all the MCU fans. “Jon Favreau didn’t just jump into #DeadpoolAndWolverine for a quick one night stand as Happy Hogan. He gave us the 360 degree vision of an innovator, foundational Marvel forefather and ace storyteller,” Reynolds began. “And if I have his number right, he is WILDLY uncomfortable with everything I’m writing in this post. But f*** it, I got what I needed out of him so he’s gonna drink the medicine.”
“One of the many things I love about playing Deadpool is that he’s a fan. Like me. Deadpool LOVES Marvel. So, working with Jon who’s one of the original creatives who built an empire, was somehow BETTER than sitting with one of my heroes. And almost better than being cradled in Thor’s powerful arms while he sobs like a f******* motherless child who lost his binky in a house fire,” Reynolds added. “Jon is one of the greats. Yeah, the movie benefitted from his incredible performance, but we got something more important: his generosity of time and energy to talk story and brainstorm larger themes and ideas. I’d drop everything to show up for this guy anytime or anywhere. Thank you, Jon.”
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