Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are good pals, so it came as no surprise that McElhenney made a cameo appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine as a TVA soldier. However, McElhenney’s cameo wound up on the cutting room floor and Reynolds took to social media to explain why.

“A word on my ‘darling’ friend, Rob McElhenney. Rob very kindly did a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine which will hopefully live on in the digital extras,” Reynolds explained. “While editing a movie, they say you ‘sometimes have to kill your darlings.’ And with a heavy heart (and through great outside intervention) I had to kill a darling with this cameo.”

Reynolds continued, “The sequence wasn’t working the way we’d originally constructed it. Rob was the only reason it stayed in the cut for as long as it did, because even under a TVA mask and helmet, you can feel him smoldering with a raw and almost infinite reservoir of talent, writerly wit and “I create hit tv shows” swagger. Don’t even get me started on Wrexham. I wouldn’t know a love like Wrexham@ if it weren’t for Rob McElhenney.“

“Anyway, I loved making this movie but it wasn’t without stress. There was a lot of expectation — and I’m pretty sure the most well written villain in cinema history is ‘Expectation’. And when you do stressful stuff, it feels good when friends are nearby,” Reynolds said. “And even though I’m mortified he flew all the way to London for a cameo that wasn’t meant to be, I’m grateful my friend was there with me on that set. When I see Rob, my heart-rate slows and my nervous system stops yelling at me. He shows up for people. And he showed up for me.” Reynolds also suggested that McElhenney’s character “begged for his life before Alioth snatched his unsuspecting body into the air, swallowing him whole, eventually digesting and converting him into Alioth-poo.” Bring on the McElhenney cut!

Taking place six years after the events of the last movie, Deadpool & Wolverine finds Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) toiling away in civilian life with his days as Deadpool behind him. But when his homeworld faces an existential threat, he must suit up once again and convince a reluctant Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to help save his universe. In addition to Reynolds and Jackman, the cast also includes Matthew Macfadyen, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, Brianna Hildebrand, Shioli Kutsuna, Rob Delany, Stefan Kapičić, and more.

Our own Chris Bumbray had a lot of fun with Deadpool & Wolverine, which sounds like a real crowd-pleaser. “Have you ever been to a concert and wished that your favourite band would stop playing their not-as-good new stuff and play the hits? That’s exactly what Marvel is doing with Deadpool & Wolverine,” Bumbray wrote in his review. “After a rough run of movies, with many saying their Phase 5 has been disastrous, this feels like an everything but the kitchen-sink attempt by the company to win back those fans who feel alienated by the new direction the company seemed to be heading in. With this, you have a rock ‘em, sock ‘em thrill ride that delivers fans exactly the movie they wanted to see, with nary a message to be found amidst all the charred, sliced and diced corpses our heroes leave in their wake. It’s glorious fun.” You can check out the rest of Bumbray’s spoiler-free review right here, and don’t forget to let us know what you think of Deadpool & Wolverine as well!