Henry Cavill portrayed a Wolverine variant in Deadpool & Wolverine, a role that earned the character the nickname "Cavillrine" from Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool. This cameo, which occurred during Deadpool's search for a suitable Wolverine variant across alternate dimensions, featured Cavill's character working on a motorcycle before confronting Deadpool. The scene included a nod to Cavill's role in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, where he performed a signature arm-loading motion that was incorporated into the fight sequence. Cavill's portrayal was noted for its physicality and commitment, though he reportedly became sick from inhaling cigar smoke for eight hours straight during filming, as the character was required to keep a cigar lit throughout the shoot. Cavill also shaved off his mustache for the role, referencing his inability to do so during the reshoots of Justice League due to his commitment to Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
The character, referred to in the script as "Hopperine" (a reference to David Harbour's Jim Hopper from Stranger Things), was a brief but impactful appearance that paid homage to years of fan speculation about Cavill playing Wolverine. Director Shawn Levy confirmed that Cavill agreed to the cameo for its playful nature and the opportunity to transition from DC to Marvel, highlighting the long-standing rivalry between the two comic book studios. The character's appearance was also seen as a humorous and affectionate tribute to Cavill's legacy as Superman, with Deadpool joking that the MCU would treat him "better than those shit-fucks down the street".
There are rumors that Cavill may return as the Cavillrine in Avengers: Secret Wars, scheduled for release in 2027, based on a prediction from a Marvel insider with a claimed 89% accuracy rate. However, this has not been officially confirmed by Marvel Studios or Cavill. While some fans speculate about his potential return in other projects, such as a World War Hulk film, these claims lack official backing and are considered unfounded.
Please, dear Jesus, hear me out, folks. Yes, everything else about that scene was perfect; the lighting, the shot of him revving his motorcycle and the smoke billowing from that cigar in his mouth, as well as the hair and the makeup and the look in his face as he delivers his one line; "You were just leavin".
But then they go and ruin it. By doing what exactly? Calling him "The Cavillrine". Well done, Ryan Reynolds. You just stigmatised him. You just memed him. Now, if Henry Cavill ever does come back to the MCU as Earth 616's Wolverine, no one is gonna see him as a new version of Wolverine who just so happens to be played by Henry Cavill and is totally its own unique thing. They're just gonna see a version of Wolverine whose only defining trait is that he is played by Henry Cavill.
Now, compare this with John Krasinski's cameo as Reed Richards in Multiverse of Madness. Whilst this too was an example of a long-awaited fancast brought to life, but done absolutely horrendously, at least when Krasinski showed up on screen, Dr. Strange didn't make a joke about how Reed looked EXACTLY LIKE JOHN KRASINSKI!!!
Of course, as I write this, I'm already anticipating people jumping to the film's defence by bringing up the fact that in the previous film, Deadpool calls cable Thanos. But, that instance of meta-humour worked better because Deadpool doesn't make that reference until much later in the film; until we as the audience had enough time to get attached to Josh Brolin's amazing portrayal as Cable, despite us already having been invested in his portrayal as Thanos in the main MCU timeline for the 3 years leading up to that movie. In fact, it's the jarring delay in that observation itself, which makes it so funny in the first place.
Granted, the "Cavillrine" wasn't given the full two hours to bond with the audience. But even if you had just kept the line; "we'll treat you so much better than those shit fucks down the street", that would've been fine. The audience would've already got that it was a subtle reference to Henry Cavill's poor experience working with DC. Worst case scenario is that people misinterpret that line as just being a reference to the X-men, which funnily enough would actually be even better because the audience would be separating this version of Wolverine from the actor playing him.