Deadpool & Wolverine Villain Revealed (And Their Origin Story Is Nothing Short Of Nuts)

Public records are a wonderful thing. Concerned citizens can look up exactly where to protest and send angry voicemails to our more disagreeable politicians, neo-noir detectives can follow trails of corruption embedded in the highest levels of publicly-trading companies from their paperwork alone, and comic book fans can apparently sniff out spoilers well ahead of when major studios meant to release them. What a time to be alive. For “Deadpool” fans, that last bit is the most relevant. After one intriguing shot of a bald-headed person in the first “Deadpool & Wolverine” trailer (see above) had fans scurrying for explanations, we just might know exactly who that is. Although officially announced by star Ryan Reynolds himself, Emma Corrin’s casting has been kept under wraps for the past year. If they do indeed turn out to be Cassandra Nova and the Shawn Levy-directed threequel decides to preserve the character’s comic book origins, well, things in the multiverse-focused film are about to get very nuts, indeed.

In the comics, Cassandra is actually the twin sister of X-Men leader Charles Xavier. (That’s a simplification of a very weird origin, admittedly, but otherwise, we’d be here all day.) While both were still in the womb, the gifted Charles detected evil coursing through the, uh, embryotic sludge of Cassandra and — get this — decided to use his powers to kill his own unborn sister’s fetus like some comic-booky application of the infamous “Would you kill baby Hitler?” thought experiment. Obviously, that attempt didn’t quite turn out as planned and Cassandra went on to piece herself together one cell at a time on a sewer wall, slowly nursing a grudge to take vengeance upon her brother.

That time may finally arrive in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which premieres in theaters on July 26, 2024.