Shawn Levy: Taylor Swift was never going to cameo in Deadpool and Wolverine

Shawn Levy has confirmed that Taylor Swift was never going to appear in 'Deadpool and Wolverine'.

Rumours that the 34-year-old pop sensation would cameo in the Marvel flick began to circulate in the months leading up to the film's release, but the director has now insisted the story of Swift's involvement in the project "came out of nowhere".

In an interview with Variety, he said: "That was one of the loudest rumors that came out of nowhere. It was never true. Thank you, internet, for building such a smokescreen of rumors and half-truths so that no one ever knew what was going to happen."

While the 'Shake It Off' singer didn't end up appearing in the movie, Swift's best friend – and Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds' wife – Blake Lively cameoed as Ladypool, though kept her mask on for all her scenes.

When Levy was quizzed on whether Lively, 36, could play the character in another flick, the filmmaker revealed "there's always a future", but emphasised 'Deadpool and Wolverine' didn't act as a "setup to anything".

He explained: "We never discussed taking off her mask. So there’s always the future … It’s definitely not a promise.

"We also wanted this to be a standalone movie that leaves everything possible but serves no next movie. It is not a setup to anything, so we’ll see what happens."

As well as the 'It Ends With Us' star's appearance, fans were overjoyed to see Channing Tatum as Gambit – a role the 44-year-old actor had been in the running for when Fox owned the X-Men I.P.

Reflecting on Tatum's role in the movie, Levy said it was "deeply satisfying" to see the actor finally suit up as the superhero.

The director said: "I am obsessed with Channing as Gambit in this movie. What went into this, first and foremost, is a decade of Channing wanting to play this part and a decade of Channing almost playing this part at Fox.

"I know this personally because back in those years, I was one of 25 different directors who met with Channing about directing the Fox 'Gambit' movie, and yet it never quite happened.

"So when we decided to have Gambit in this movie, we knew it would be deeply gratifying for Channing."

Read the full Variety interview with Shawn Levy at https://variety.com/2024/film/news/shawn-levy-deadpool-and-wolverine-spoilers-cameos-1236089059/