David Leitch and Ryan Reynolds explain why the Deadpool 2 extended edition has an unexpected cameo from the dangerous Russian mutant Omega Red. The character wasn’t always slated to appear in the final cut, but he was eventually added onto the home video release.

Deadpool 2 introduced a wealth of new characters into the wider X-Men universe, but almost added one more; a murderous mutant assassin known as Omega Red. The character was intended to be one of Wade’s fellow inmates at the Ice Box Prison, but was sadly cut from the theatrical release. He still appears in the “Super Duper $@%!#& Cut”, the extended edition that featured at SDCC this weekend.

Speaking exclusively to Screen Rant at Comic-Con 2018, Leitch and Reynolds explained that Omega Red was never actually a part of the script. “We had one of the guys sort of dressed up as Omega Red to sort of populate the world of the prison,” Leitch said, adding, “We really want to put those kind types of characters around for, you know, the future. To sort of make it feel like we a part of that universe.” Reynolds insisted that, even though Omega Red was cut, he loved that the character was originally there in the first place.

In the comics, Omega Red is one of the most dangerous mutants alive. Created by Jim Lee and John Byrne in 1992, he’s an old enemy of Wolverine’s, a Russian serial killer who was captured by Interpol and turned over to the KGB. The Russian government realized that he was a powerful mutant and conducted horrific experiments on him, turning him into their most dangerous super-soldier. Omega Red is a physical powerhouse with the ability to project so-called “death spores” from his body. These are fatal to ordinary humans within seconds, though mutants with healing factors can resist them to a limited degree. The U.S.S.R. implanted the metal carbonadium within Omega Red’s body, which he can extract as tentacles. If Omega Red ensnares a person within those tentacles, he can drain their life-force into himself.

Naturally, Omega Red’s appearance in Deadpool 2 was only ever a cameo. At the same time, though, the Russian murderer is a perfect fit for the Deadpool universe. Leitch’s explanation suggests he was deliberately planting characters into the film who could be developed in future movies, so there’s still a strong possibility that Omega Red will actually turn up in some sort of canon role at a later date. In the most recent comics, Omega Red is actually a member of a so-called “Weapon X” team of antiheroes. Given the wacky nature of the Deadpool franchise, it’s not impossible that the films could use Omega Red in this capacity too, with the serial killer actually siding with Deadpool against a more dangerous threat.

More: Altered Deadpool 2 Post-Credits Scene Hints At Wolverine’s Return

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