[This story contains spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine.]
Speculation about who would play Lady Deadpool in Deadpool & Wolverine ran rampant when fans got the first glimpse at the character in a June teaser for Best Friends Day.
The shot was brief, only showing legs that mildly resembled a woman’s, but that’s all it took for people to begin guessing who could be playing the female variant of Deadpool. Theories included Taylor Swift, who’s good friends with Ryan Reynolds, and Blake Lively.
At least one of them was right, as Lively was revealed to portray Lady Deadpool in the film, and the actress shared insight into how she landed the gig — and no, it isn’t because she’s married to the star and co-writer.
In a lengthy social media post, the It Ends With Us star — who donned a red Deadpool-esque suit to the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere in New York on Monday — recalled first hearing about Reynolds trying to bring the R-rated character to life when they co-starred in Green Lantern.
“It was a ‘meta’ superhero,” Lively said of how her now-husband explained the character to her and their fellow co-star Taika Waititi in 2010. “Most of us didn’t know what exactly meta meant back then. 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.”
Around that same time, she continued, Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld drew an unmasked version of Lady Deadpool for the first time. Lively shared a screenshot of a post from the comic book writer, in which he revealed that he based the character entirely on the actress because he and his wife were “crazy Uber Gossip Girl fans,” who never missed an episode.
“I pleaded a strong case that Wanda Wilson was a stunning blonde, no scars and Marvel thought that was a cool idea. Invoked Blake on GG and they gave me the thumbs up. Serena Van Der Woodsen forever,” he wrote in 2022. “If ever we are blessed with Lady Deadpool on screen I’m pretty certain Ms. Lively will have some say in the casting.”
The A Simple Favor star noted in her post that, at the time, Liefeld had no idea she was working with Reynolds on the 2011 superhero film, and Deadpool hadn’t even been greenlit yet.
“12 years later I read Rob’s post [about inspiring Lady Deadpool]. A year after that, @deadpoolmovie 3 was filmed,” Lively continued. “The universe has such a magical sense of humor sometimes.”
She concluded her post by praising director Shawn Levy for being in a league of his own. “There will never be another. His insane body of work speaks for itself. Thank you buddy for bringing me along with you in ways big and small,” she wrote. “What a ride you’re all in for…”
Deadpool & Wolverine is in theaters now.
