2024 Secretly Had The Perfect Deadpool Recasting Option For The MCU After Ryan Reynolds

2024 Secretly Had The Perfect Deadpool Recasting Option For The MCU After Ryan Reynolds


2024 was a banner year for Wade Wilson as he made his first foray into the MCU, but it was another under-the-radar property that had the perfect replacement for Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. Deadpool & Wolverine was a massive success, becoming the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time, and climbing the box office ranks of the MCU overall. Ryan Reynolds is the biggest reason for Deadpool’s continued success, having played the character since his controversial debut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine back in 2009, and getting redemption through his own trilogy.

Despite being the face of Deadpool and one of the biggest successes for the MCU timeline since Spider-Man: No Way Home, Ryan Reynolds wasn’t the only actor to play Deadpool in 2024. It was an animated LEGO special that brought the character back for a second time in the same year, proving that Deadpool can live on long after Ryan Reynolds decides to step away from the character at some point in the future.

Jason Mantzoukas Plays Deadpool In LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition

Ryan Reynolds wasn’t the only actor to portray Deadpool in 2024, as Jason Mantzoukas played the character in the Disney + special, LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition that was released on the platform on October 18, 2024. Mantzoukas doesn’t get a ton of screentime as the Merc with the Mouth, considering he was the end-credits gag, but he makes the most of his role, embodying all the iconic qualities of the character.

Of course, Jason Mantzoukas’ role as Deadpool is vastly different, being the end-credits zinger of an animated special that was just over 40 minutes, instead of leading one of the most successful Marvel films of all time. Still, Mantzoukas did an admirable job playing Deadpool, who has become a character that will be forever associated with Ryan Reynolds long after his time as the character is over. His banter and subsequent “fight” with She-Hulk as the two meta characters is a great, funny way to end the special.

Why LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition Didn’t Cast Ryan Reynolds

Deadpool learning the truth in the TVA in Deadpool & Wolverine

Because Ryan Reynolds is essentially synonymous with Deadpool at this point, it raises the question about why he didn’t reprise the role for LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition. Given that the special is just a smaller-scale production, the budget probably wouldn’t have allowed for Reynolds to voice the character. Still, it doesn’t diminish the character in the special itself, as it follows a familiar pattern for the other Marvel characters.

This is the first time the former Fox Marvel Characters (Deadpool, X-Men, The Fantastic Four) appear in a LEGO Marvel Special.

Like Ryan Reynolds, none of the actors who portray these characters in the MCU appeared in LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition. The great thing about these characters, and superhero projects in general, is that a multitude of actors can come in and make the character their own in some way. The entire cast of LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition does an admirable job and helps to separate the special from the MCU and other adaptations of the characters.

LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition Continues Jason Mantzoukas’ Superhero Movie Career

LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition isn’t the only superhero project that Jason Mantzoukas has lent his talents to. In fact, it isn’t even the only LEGO superhero property that he has been in. Mantzoukas also voiced Scarecrow in The LEGO Batman Movie in 2017. Like his Deadpool role in LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition, Jason Mantzoukas didn’t get a ton of screentime in The LEGO Batman Movie. Still, it is fun to see actors cross over from DC to Marvel and vice versa in live action or animated projects.

Bringing back Jason Mantzoukas as Scarecrow in a more prevalent role could be a great move for the franchise.

Scarecrow typically couldn’t be more different from Deadpool, but Jason Mantzoukas portrayed both characters perfectly, and definitely made the most of his limited screentime in each role. It’s a shame that The LEGO Batman Movie will seemingly never get a follow-up film. If by some miracle it actually does, bringing back Jason Mantzoukas as Scarecrow in a more prevalent role could be a great move for the franchise.

LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition wasn’t the first animated special in the series, and it certainly won’t be the last. With Deadpool making a hilarious appearance in the end credits, the possibility for him to return to the next installment is there. Even if Ryan Reynolds remains the only live-action Deadpool for the MCU for at least the time being, it is nice to see another take on Wade Wilson, and Jason Mantzoukas made the most of his limited time as the character.

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