Ryan Reynolds Reveals Nicolas Cage Almost Reprised This Iconic Marvel Role in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ [Exclusive]

Not only is it the third installment in the standalone franchise, a fresh breath of hope and change for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and a conduit through which money is flowing back into the box office but, at its heart, Deadpool & Wolverine is an ode to the Marvel movies made under 20th Century Fox. Many of the actors and characters outside the MCU never got to see their stories play out, which wasn’t only difficult for the performers but also for the fans to whom those stories meant so much. So, when Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy set out to create what would ultimately become Deadpool & Wolverine, they did so with this in mind.

Along with Hugh Jackman back as Wolverine, there were plenty of other incredible moments that wove the likes of Jennifer Garner’s Elektra and Wesley Snipes’ Blade into the storyline. Yet, there were still numerous faces that didn’t appear — which makes sense, as not everyone could be worked into the story without turning it into an overly gratuitous mish-mash of cameos.

Heading into a conversation with Reynolds and Levy following the release of the movie, Collider’s editor-in-chief Steve Weintraub came prepared with a multitude of questions, including one about a fan-favorite face who was MIA. That ex-member of Sony’s wing of Marvel was Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider. When asked if the team had ever thought of bringing Cage in to reprise his role as Ghost Rider, Reynolds gave a simple, “Yes,” adding that things “Came to a conversation for sure. Yeah, but no.” For a man known for his outgoing personality, Reynolds kept a pretty tight lip on further details surrounding the interaction with the legendary movie star.

Why We Would’ve Loved To See Nicolas Cage In ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

This point doesn’t really need much of an explanation. It obviously would’ve been really rad to have seen Cage revving up his bike and raising holy hell in Deadpool & Wolverine. Plus, unlike some other movies that fell outside the MCU umbrella, the Ghost Rider series was largely well received by the fandom. And, because Reynolds doesn’t go into detail, we’ll never truly know what stopped Cage from hopping back into the role of Johnny Blaze. There are likely a multitude of reasons surrounding the missed-out-on cameo, but we can’t help thinking about how unhappy the Face/Off actor was with his brief appearance in last summer’s The Flash as the Tim Burton Superman who never was. Who knows, maybe that experience officially soured him on similar opportunities for good.

Deadpool & Wolverine is now playing in cinemas and even without Cage, it still f***s hard. Stay tuned for more from our spoiler-filled chat with Reynolds and Levy.