Deadpool & Wolverine director teases cameos: 'There's a lot of characters'

At this point, who hasn't been rumored to appear in Deadpool & Wolverine, this year's big entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe? We've got Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman back in their fan-favorite roles, sure, but everyone from Taylor Swift to original X-Men characters to Jennifer Garner have been floated around the web for potential roles.

Director Shawn Levy confirms, "There's a lot of characters" — even if he's not saying which ones specifically.

"We didn't want any of the cameos or characters to be the story of the movie," Levy tells Entertainment Weekly in an interview for our Deadpool & Wolverine cover story. "But they are peppered in throughout. There's a lot of characters. The internet is a delight of rumors about the multitude of character cameos that are in this movie. Some rumors are true, some are way off base."

The ones officially confirmed are Sabretooth, Wolverine's ultimate adversary who was played by Tyler Mane in 2000's X-Men, as well as Pyro, Aaron Stanford's fire-manipulating mutant who first appeared in 2003's X2: X-Men United and then again in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand. Others that we really think are in the movie, because of certain scenes in the movie trailers, include characters like Toad (from X-Men) and Azazel (from 2011's X-Men: First Class).

A new image exclusively revealed by EW heavily suggests Lady Deathstrike, the adamantium-nailed antagonist first portrayed by Kelly Hu in X2, will return as well.

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The hype has worked in the film's favor. Levy and his two leads, Reynolds and Jackman, are strategically not commenting on cameos, which only adds to the intrigue. "The level of expectation and anticipation certainly creates spoiler anxiety that keeps me up at night, but it also keeps me rigorously focused on the highest standards for this movie, because it brings the highest expectations," Levy comments. "With a movie like this, where people seem to be letting us know they intend to show up, I want to make sure that we build the most joyous, rollicking good time in the theaters that we possibly could."

Deadpool & Wolverine picks up years after the events of 2018's Deadpool 2. Reynolds' Wade is now working as a used car salesman and no longer dating his longtime paramour Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). When agents from the Time Variance Authority, first introduced in the Disney+ series Loki, arrive at his doorstep, he's whisked away to TVA headquarters to meet the boss, Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen). Wade receives a mission that then puts him on a collision course with a Wolverine from an alternate reality (Jackman).

The film opens in theaters on July 26.

Watch Reynolds and Jackman recap Deadpool and Deadpool 2 below: