SPOILERS AHEAD! Fans have long speculated Taylor Swift‘s involvement in the latest Marvel entry, but sadly the singer does not appear in the film in any capacity.
Though, the singer did take the chance to promote the movie on her Instagram with a caption honoring her close friend, Ryan Reynolds, who stars as the titular character of the franchise.
“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 abs sandwich. I don’t know how he did it,” Swift wrote.
Here’s why many Swifties and Marvel fans alike anticipated the singer’s presence in Deadpool & Wolverine:
In 2016, Taylor dressed as the Marvel character on Halloween. According to her post from the party, the costume came from Reynolds’ himself. Two years later, Deadpool 2 released in theaters and featured an Easter egg of Taylor Swift’s cats, Meredith and Olivia.
Swift became friends with Ryan Reynolds through her close friendship with Blake Lively, who’s been married to him since 2012. According to People, Swift and Lively’s friendship began in 2015.
Back in the summer 2015, the singer was photographed hanging out with X-Men: Apocalypse writer Simon Kinberg, plus the film’s stars James McAvoy and Sophie Turner. This led fans to speculate that she’d pop up as Dazzler in the X-Men film, but that rumor was ultimately squashed when the movie was released in 2016 and featured no appearance from Swift.
In the comics, Dazzler has blonde hair and blue eyes, with the power to manipulate sound and transform it into light. She also juggles a singing career with superhero duties in the source material.
Fast forward to the promotion of Deadpool & Wolverine, rumors quickly reignited after the film’s plot began to unfold. In the third entry of the franchise, set photos revealed the return of many 20th Century Fox Marvel characters whose franchises were canceled when Disney acquired the film rights back in 2019. In fact, Deadpool & Wolverine would be the first movie to feature both Ryan Reynolds’ and Hugh Jackman’s portrayals of the titular characters in Disney’s Marvel Universe.
Given the Deadpool franchise’s tendency to lean into meta jokes and pop-culture references, plus Swift’s friendship with Reynolds and rumored “Dazzler” history, it wouldn’t be completely outlandish to believe that she’d appear in the film.
In early October, Swift was joined by Reynolds, Lively, Jackman, and the film’s director Shawn Levy to watch the NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets.
Levy also acknowledged that Swift’s fans “sure are loud,” but wouldn’t confirm or deny her involvement in the third Deadpool when asked about her inclusion in an interview from TheWrap.
“I’m going across the board,” he said. “‘No comment’ because that’s a double whammy. That’s Taylor-related. And it’s MCU-related. I’m no dummy. You’re going to have to wait and see.”
Just before the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, Reynolds told E! News that he wanted to clarify the cameo rumor because she’s his friend and she’s not in the movie. Though he said he’d always be open to her inclusion.
“I always do say that if anyone ever were to take over the role of Deadpool, actually Taylor would be very good,” Reynolds added. “Because that’s a superpower that I don’t know that she shows everyone too often: She’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.”
Despite putting the rumors to rest, fans weren’t convinced Taylor wouldn’t be in the movie. The IMAX posters for the film began referencing the popstar with Deadpool and Wolverine sporting friendship bracelets, much like Taylor Swift fans exchange during her concerts.
Reynolds’ helped fuel the fire by recreating one of Taylor’s album covers on his Instagram story. Below is a side by side comparison of Taylor Swift’s Evermore album cover and Ryan’s Instagram post:
Now that the film has been released, it is official that Taylor did not opt in to join the Marvel franchise. There may be many reasons as to why she didn’t make a cameo, she is in the middle of a sold-out world tour after all. The singer has also had a busy schedule since the film began filming.
Aside from her word-tour and appearances at the Kansas City Chief games, Swift is in the middle of re-recording many of her albums and of course her record breaking Tortured Poets Department, which released in April. Note, the final lyric of her Tortured Poets album is “dazzling.” Fans and film buffs took that as a hint toward her rumored role.
The film’s R-rating and raunchy humor may also be off-brand for the singer. Here’s hoping one day Taylor finally appears as the Dazzler in the MCU!
