You’ve seen the TikToks. The ones with the grainiest footage imaginable, claiming Jim Carrey has a secret cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine. Or maybe you remember the 2021 headlines screaming that Marvel was "in talks" with the comedy legend to play a major villain. It feels like it should happen, right? The rubber-faced king of the 90s meeting the king of meta-humor.
But here’s the thing: Jim Carrey in Deadpool is one of those internet myths that refuses to die because it’s built on a pile of coincidences, a 36-year-old movie, and a whole lot of wishful thinking.
If you go looking for Carrey in the latest Marvel flick, you’re going to be disappointed. He isn't there. No secret mask, no Riddler-esque villainy. Just a lot of digital ghosts and fan-made trailers that look surprisingly real if you’ve had a couple of beers.
The "Dirty Harry" Confusion
The most hilarious part of this whole "Jim Carrey in Deadpool" saga is that, technically, he was in a Deadpool movie. Just not the one with the red spandex.
Back in 1988, a very young, very "James" Carrey appeared in the fifth Dirty Harry film. The title? The Dead Pool.
He plays a drug-addicted rock star named Johnny Squares who lip-syncs to Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle" before getting murdered. It’s a wild, weird performance. If you search for "Jim Carrey Deadpool" on Google, the algorithm sometimes gets its wires crossed and shows you clips of a 26-year-old Carrey flailing around a trailer with Clint Eastwood.
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People see the title, see the name, and boom—a rumor is born. "Did you know Jim Carrey was the original Deadpool?" No, Sharon, he was just a guy who died in a movie about a betting pool.
Why the Rumors Stuck Like Glue
It isn't just the name of an old movie, though. There’s a deeper reason why we all want Jim Carrey in a Deadpool project.
Basically, Ryan Reynolds' entire comedic persona is the spiritual successor to 1994 Jim Carrey. Think about it. The fast-talking, the breaking of the fourth wall, the high-energy physical comedy masked by a literal mask. The Mask (1994) is essentially a PG-13 Deadpool.
Stanley Ipkiss becomes an invincible, reality-warping trickster who makes pop culture references while beating up bad guys. Sound familiar?
There was even a massive wave of rumors around 2021, sparked by "insiders" like Daniel Richtman, claiming Marvel was courting Carrey for Deadpool 3. The theory was that he’d play a multiversal villain or even a version of himself. It made sense on paper. Reynolds has often cited Carrey as a massive influence. But as we saw when the credits rolled on Deadpool & Wolverine, it never happened.
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The Kick-Ass 2 Problem
There’s a real-world reason why Jim Carrey in Deadpool is a tough sell, and it’s not because he’s "retired" (he’s come back for Sonic before).
It’s about the violence.
In 2013, Carrey played Colonel Stars and Stripes in Kick-Ass 2. Shortly after filming, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred. Carrey famously withdrew his support for the film, tweeting that he could no longer "in good conscience" support that level of violence.
Now, look at Deadpool.
It’s a franchise built on "maximum effort" and creative dismemberment. While Carrey has eased up his stance a bit to play Dr. Eggman, jumping into a hard-R movie where heads explode every ten minutes might be a bridge too far for where he’s at in his personal life. He’s much more into painting and "philosophical wandering" these days than he is into stunt-heavy action comedies.
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Fan Art vs. Reality
If you’ve seen a poster of Jim Carrey wearing the Deadpool suit, it’s likely from a digital artist named Hasan Kazi or one of the many AI-generated "90s Deadpool" trailers on YouTube.
These concepts are incredible. They imagine a world where 1994 Jim Carrey played Wade Wilson and Mel Gibson played Wolverine. It’s the ultimate "what if" scenario. But these images go viral, get stripped of their "fan art" labels, and end up in your Facebook feed as "CONFIRMED NEWS."
The truth is much more boring.
- No secret cameo: He isn't in the Void.
- No villain deal: Those 2021 talks either fizzled out or never existed.
- No Mask crossover: As much as we want to see Loki’s mask meet the MCU, it’s a rights nightmare.
Honestly, the closest we’ll ever get is Ryan Reynolds doing his best Carrey impression—which, let’s be real, is about 40% of his performance anyway.
What You Should Do Instead
If you’re still craving that high-energy, meta-comedy fix that a Jim Carrey in Deadpool collab would have provided, don't just keep refreshing rumors.
- Watch "The Dead Pool" (1988): It’s a trip to see Carrey before he was Jim Carrey. It’s a gritty 80s thriller, and his scene is the most memorable part.
- Revisit "The Mask": If you watch it immediately after Deadpool, you’ll see the DNA. The way they both use the "cartoon physics" logic is almost identical.
- Check out "Kidding": If you want to see Carrey’s modern, more nuanced take on "funny man with a dark side," this series is his best work in a decade.
Stop waiting for a cameo that isn't coming. Enjoy the fact that we have two different eras of Canadian comedy geniuses who both figured out that the best way to tell a story is to look right at the camera and wink.
Next Steps:
Go check out the original 1988 The Dead Pool trailer on YouTube. It’s the best way to settle the "wait, was he actually in it?" debate with your friends. If you're looking for more real Marvel facts, look into the actual cameos from the latest movie—like Henry Cavill's brief stint—which are actually confirmed.