Why Rob McElhenney was cut from ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’
The star Philadelphian and 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' actor flew all the way to London to film his cameo
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Nearly a month after the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, Rob McElhenney had still been wondering why his cameo was cut.
On Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast last week, the beloved Philly actor — who would have appeared as a Time Variance Authority agent — said he hadn’t heard from Deadpool & Wolverine star Ryan Reynolds and he didn’t know what happened. He joked that his “performance was not up to par” and suggested that the visual effects-heavy sequence might have been too expensive for Marvel’s approval.
“It is not the first time that I’ve been excised from the final cut of a film,” McElhenney said, with some snark. “It’s happened many times, and I try not to take it personally, but this time, I think it was personal … I’m still waiting for him to say, ‘Surprise!’”
On Friday, Reynolds, who plays the foul-mouthed, unserious antihero Deadpool, posted an apologetic message on Instagram explaining that McElhenney’s scene was axed because “the sequence wasn’t working the way we’d originally constructed it.” Reynolds is also one of the film’s producers.
“Rob was the only reason it stayed in the cut for as long as it did, because even under a TVA mask and helmet, you can feel him smoldering with a raw and almost infinite reservoir of talent, writerly wit and ‘I create hit TV shows’ swagger,” Reynolds wrote.
The actor called McElhenney a darling friend and said the cut was one of the more stressful decisions he had to make. “Even though I’m mortified he flew all the way to London for a cameo that wasn’t meant to be, I’m grateful my friend was there with me on that set,” said Reynolds. “When I see Rob, my heart-rate slows and my nervous system stops yelling at me. He shows up for people. And he showed up for me.”
Reynolds added that he hopes the scene will “live on in the digital extras” and tagged Marvel Studios saying that McElhenney “would make an awesome Hydra Bob,” referring to Deadpool’s sidekick in the original comics.
Has the pair made up? We’ll believe it when we see McElhenney in a future Marvel film.
For now, they’re still working together on the FX documentary series Welcome to Wrexham, about being coowners of the Welsh football team Wrexham AFC. McElhenney told Variety he’s thinking of asking Marvel for permission to use his cut cameo scene on the show.