The Deadpool & Wolverine Variant Percy Jackson's Walker Scobell Almost Played

With "Deadpool & Wolverine" in its second week of blockbuster theatrical release, it feels safe to finally discuss sans spoiler warning the myriad of cameos tucked within its meta-mad 128-minute runtime. After all, these movies are instant gratification machines. Once they're out in the wild, it's foolish to expect hardcore comic book nerds to keep it in their pants for so much as a second after their first public screening. They're designed to get folks flooding the zone over what they've just seen, while speculating over what's to come. (Even Disney and Marvel have opened the floodgates on spoilers by now.)

"Deadpool & Wolverine" is an interesting film in this regard because a good deal of the speculation is about what's not to come, and in some cases, what didn't happen at all. Despite their stirring, crowd-pleasing sacrifices in The Void, the heroes of Marvel movies past (most notably Blade, Elektra, and Gambit) have at long last completed their tour of duty. This should not come as a surprise. The MCU moved on from them a long time ago. That they got this uplifting curtain call is a blessing.

There are, however, other instances where you might wonder who didn't get the call. In terms of Fox's Marvel Universe, that list is long and distinguished (there are multiple Oscar winners in this group who were likely more than happy to watch from the sidelines). And then there are the random cameos, like DCEU veteran Henry Cavill dropping by as Cavillrine. Or that multitude of Deadpool variants. Though they're all masked, you can quickly identify some of the voices — Matthew McConaughey and Blake Lively in particular.

Had life gone another way (or, rather, slowed its progress), Disney+ subscribers might've been treated to a pop-in from Percy Jackson himself, Walker Scobell. Though the actor was vehemently on the record about wanting to join the Deadpool circus, his body screwed him out of it.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, "Deadpool & Wolverine" director Shawn Levy revealed that Scobell was their first choice for Kidpool. You might figure Inez Reynolds, the 7-year-old daughter of Ryan and Blake who actually ended up with the role, had the inside track all the way, but evidently you would be figuring wrong!

Unfortunately, Scobell, who launched into Deadpool's "f*** Wolverine" monologue on video for EW while shooting "The Adam Project" with Reynolds and Levy, had to go and hit puberty. According to Levy:

"If Walker Scobell had stopped evolving right before puberty, he absolutely would've been Kidpool. It was his dream. Ryan and I reached out to him once we realized he was now going to be too old, both too tall and with his voice too low. Puberty is what it is, and all the Hollywood dreams in the world can't stop it. So we did call Walker and explain why he couldn't be Kidpool, and he was completely understanding."

Tough luck, Walker. While no one's going to shed too many tears for the 15-year-old star of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" (which was renewed for its second season earlier this year), it would've been a nice full-circle moment for the dozens of "The Adam Project" fans out there. By the time a presumed fourth "Deadpool" flick is ready to go, Scobell should be old enough to play a more mature role. Maybe he'll find his way to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in the interim. Somehow, I think this plucky youngster's gonna be okay.