What is Rob McElhenney’s Deadpool and Wolverine cameo?
It's no secret that Deadpool & Wolverine is the most cameo-stuffed movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. So perhaps it's no surprise that Ryan Reynolds found room to get his football club buddy Rob McElhenney into the cast.
Reynolds and McElhenney own Wrexham AFC together and have documented their time running the club in the genuinely heartfelt Hulu documentary series Welcome to Wrexham — available on Disney+ in the UK. Given how closely these two are bonded, McElhenney was always going to join the MCU.
Note: There are, of course, spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine on the way.
But you need some seriously good eyes and ears to find McElhenney as his is one of the least obvious Deadpool and Wolverine cameos. Let's have a look at what we know...
Who does Rob McElhenney play in Deadpool and Wolverine?
Rob McElhenney is credited on IMDb as "TVA Soldier", which means his cameo likely takes place in one of two scenes early in the film. The first follows Deadpool laying waste to a whole host of TVA operatives using a very graphic and unorthodox array of weapons. Any of those TVA goons could be McElhenney.
Read more: Deadpool & Wolverine Blows Rowdy Hall H Crowd Away in Comic-Con Screening (The Wrap)
However, it seemed more likely that McElhenney is one of the TVA Minutemen who show up at Deadpool's apartment with the goal of bringing him in. Several of these soldiers are masked and one of them finds themselves on the end of some outrageous flirting from Deadpool.
After the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, McElhenney shared a behind-the-scenes photo on X/Twitter of himself wearing a TVA uniform, with the caption: "I traveled 6 thousand miles to shoot my cameo. I hope you enjoyed it because the theater I was watching in had mistakenly cut it out. Since I KNOW Ryan wouldn’t do me like that, I look forward to catching the movie and my cameo again today!"
Reynold replied: "It was definitely just that one theater and I am looking into this IMMEDIATELY." This shows that McElhenney did shoot a scene as a TVA Minuteman, but suggests his scene might not have made it to the final cut.
I traveled 6 thousand miles to shoot my cameo. I hope you enjoyed it because the theater I was watching in had mistakenly cut it out. Since I KNOW Ryan wouldn’t do me like that, I look forward to catching the movie and my cameo again today! #DeadpoolandWolverinepic.twitter.com/0yhZqLuiLz
— Rob McElhenney (@RMcElhenney) July 26, 2024
There's another fun nod to Reynolds' other career in a later scene in which Deadpool and Wolverine take on an army of Deadpools escaping from The Void. One of those has a Welsh dragon emblazoned across his chest as a nod to Reynolds and McElhenney's beloved football club.
Read more: Humphrey Ker on Welcome to Wrexham: ‘People accuse us of destroying football – it’s absurd’ (The Independent)
This character is credited as Welshpool — a fun nod to an actual border town — and is played by none other than Wrexham's star striker Paul Mullin. Fans of Welcome to Wrexham will be very familiar with Mullin's goal-scoring exploits.
Read more: Ryan Reynolds says Deadpool & Wolverine is meant to be a "one-off" (Digital Spy)
These are just two of the myriad cameos in Deadpool and Wolverine, which essentially serves as a tour through the last 20 years of superhero blockbusters. If you've been a fan of any of the 20th Century Fox superhero movies made since the first X-Men, then you'll likely have a whale of a time.
Despite all of that delicious fan service, Deadpool and Wolverine has divided critics. Some have praised its no-holds-barred silliness and celebratory tone, while others have criticised it for being impenetrable to those who are not all-in on the various superhero universes.
Deadpool & Wolverine is in UK cinemas now.