Ryan Reynolds had to cut Rob McElhenney from ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

Ryan Reynolds is expressing his sincerest apologies to his pal Rob McElhenney — and this time there’s no punchline.

On Friday, the Deadpool & Wolverine star penned a touching tribute to his “darling” friend in which he revealed that McElhenney filmed scenes for the Marvel blockbuster as a Time Variance Authority soldier but unfortunately didn’t make the cut. While Reynolds usually jumps at any opportunity to poke fun at his fellow Wrexham AFC owner, nixing McElhenney from the movie was no gag. 

“Rob very kindly did a cameo in #DeadpoolAndWolverine, which will hopefully live on in the digital extras,” Reynolds wrote in an Instagram post, sharing photos of McElhenney’s scrapped performance. “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.”

Explaining the decision, Reynolds wrote, “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.”

Referencing their football club, he added, “Don’t even get me started on Wrexham. I wouldn’t know a love like @wrexham_afc if it weren’t for Rob McElhenney.”

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While the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star did not have an onscreen role to play in the film, Reynolds credited him with contributing in a different, more crucial way: by helping him through the toil of the shoot.

“I loved making this movie, but it wasn’t without stress,” Reynolds wrote. “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. 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.”

He added, “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.”

Referring to the unseen Deadpool & Wolverine sequence that included the death of McElhenney’s character, Reynolds added that his friend was a helpful presence “even as he begged for his life before Alioth snatched his unsuspecting body into the air, swallowing him whole, eventually digesting and converting him into Alioth-poo.”

Reynolds concluded with a suggestion for Marvel Studios, tagging it in his post and writing, “Rob would make an awesome Hydra Bob.”

As fans of Marvel comics know, Robert Dobalina — a.k.a Bob, Agent of Hydra — is a Deadpool sidekick and henchman parody who lacks any concrete skills. The character appeared briefly in 2016’s Deadpool, played by stunt coordinator Rob Hayter, but since the film was produced under 20th Century Fox before its 2019 merger with Disney, his Hydra background went unreferenced. 

McElhenney did not comment on his interest in the henchman role, but he did respond to Reynolds’ tribute on Instagram, sharing a crying emoji with the caption, “How am I supposed to go back to writing dick jokes today?”

Though McElhenney’s cameo was left on the cutting-room floor, plenty of other stars were featured in Deadpool & Wolverine. Jennifer Garner reprised her role as Elektra, Wesley Snipes returned as Blade, Chris Evans showed up as Johnny Storm, Channing Tatum debuted his character Gambit, and Dafne Keen came back as X23. And, of course, Hugh Jackman resurrected his beloved Wolverine.