“Never once did he waver,” said the film’s director Shawn Levy about Cavill

Shawn Levy is revealing how Henry Cavill’s Deadpool & Wolverine cameo came to be.

The Deadpool & Wolverine director, 56, recently spoke with The New York Times about some of the film’s biggest surprises, including Cavill’s appearance as a Wolverine variant, which he said was a perfect casting decision.

“In the case of Henry, it was not long after everything went down with DC, and word came that Henry was being replaced as Superman,” said Levy.

“Given that Deadpool is in constant conversation with culture, it felt like a great opportunity to first of all cast Henry Cavill in a part that he would kick ass at, but also to poke fun at that other comic-book-founded movie studio and play with some self-awareness there,” he continued, noting that it was Ryan Reynolds who “brilliantly” named Cavill’s Logan “the Cavillrine.”

While the film argues that there can only be one Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman, Levy said he was excited to see what Cavill, 41, would do with his brief portrayal of the character.

Henry Cavill attends the premiere of ‘The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare’ at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on April 15, 2024 in New York City.DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GA/THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER/GETTY

“I think we all were, including poor Henry Cavill, who not only had that pumped-up muscular body but kept that cigar lit and in his mouth for the entirety of the shoot day,” Levy said. “I remember hearing the next day that Henry was sick to his stomach because he had been inhaling cigar smoke for eight hours straight, but never once did he waver.”

Cavill commented on his film appearance on Instagram, writing, “To be safe, I shaved the moustache off for this one. Just the moustache.”

He is one of several cameos featured in Deadpool & Wolverine, which include Jennifer Garner reprising her role of Elektra, Reynolds’ wife Blake Lively, and their kids.

For Levy, however, it was Reynolds, 47, and Jackman, 55, who made the film “electric.”

“I knew they were professionals. I knew they were the loveliest of gentlemen, but when you see them as Deadpool and Wolverine, something electric happens. And you’re in the presence of icons and even as their good buddy, that gave me a thrill many a day,” he told PEOPLE in February.