In a trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine, we glimpsed a startling never-before-seen character that had us all saying "Who is she?" I am speaking, of course, of Lady Deadpool.
In a film universe obsessed with multiverses, it was inevitable that Lady Deadpool show up sooner or later. But we were all admittedly curious which actress was hiding behind the blonde hair and red and black mask. Now, thanks to the film's credits and her own Instagram admission, we know: it's Blake Lively.
Lively, a prolific actor known for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Gossip Girl, Green Lantern, and much more, also happens to be Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds' wife. In her post, she writes about being on Gossip Girl in 2010 and about to film The Green Lantern with Ryan Reynolds when he told them about the "meta" superhero Deadpool for the first time.
"Most of us didn’t know what exactly meta meant back then,' she says. "Except Taika bc he’s always been more brilliant than the rest of us mortals. We understood in theory, but how it would come together for an audience was murky, for everyone but him. It wasn’t a real dream. The movie was never gonna happen.”
She goes on to share a screenshot from Deadpool comic writer Rob Liefeld, where he writes about basing an unmasked drawing of Lady Deadpool on Lively in her role of Serena van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl. Though the post is from 2022, he originally drew this back in 2010, having no idea Lively was working with Reynolds.
"The universe has such a magical sense of humor sometimes."
We won't spoil here what role Lady Deadpool plays in Deadpool & Wolverine – it's small but mighty. In the comics, she's Wanda Wilson, a female counterpart of Deadpool from an alternate reality who fights against fascism. Will we see more of her in future films? The jury's still out.
We gave Deadpool & Wolverine a 7/10 in our review, calling it a "outrageous, consistently funny superhero comedy that succeeds largely thanks to the contagious enthusiasm of leads Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, and a surprisingly classy perspective on superhero movie history." If you've already seen it, we've got a guide to every easter egg we could find in it as well as a big interview with Kevin Feige about the film.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
