Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) will unite in Deadpool & Wolverine, coming together to take on a common threat in the form of Cassandra Nova. The character will be played by Emma Corrin, who has revealed the inspirations they had in mind when portraying the role.

Corrin addressed playing Cassandra Nova in a new conversation with Entertainment Weekly. One image in mind was Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory star Gene Wilder, though this was blended with inspiration from Christoph Waltz’s villainous Hans Landa in the Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds. Corrin explained how Cassandra Nova is similarly someone who appears to be “disarmingly polite,” making the villain that much creepier.

“They wanted her to be unpredictable,” Corrin says of Nova. “[Waltz’s Inglourious Basterds character is] so disarmingly polite and nice and unaffected, and it’s really creepy. It’s all the more sinister because he doesn’t need to do anything.”

Ryan Reynolds Says Emma Corrin Brought “Gene Wilder Energy” to the Role

Reynolds was able to pick up on the Gene Wilder inspiration. The Deadpool actor previously commented on Corrin’s take on Cassandra Nova, similarly hyping the villain’s unpredictable nature. He also alluded to how dangerously charming the character is, Corrin makes the supervillain lovable from the introduction of the character.

“It felt like working with a skin-covered Swiss Army knife,” Reynolds said, per Harper’s Bazaar. “Emma brought a Gene Wilder energy to Deadpool & Wolverine. Mischief, danger, unpredictability—from their first scene onward, we understand the villain enough to know why she’s motivated to oppose our heroes. And that’s because Emma is so fucking excellent at humanizing even the most chaotic lines. The only thing we love more than hating a villain is loving one. And we love Emma’s Cassandra Nova from the jump.”

“The only thing we love more than hating a villain is loving one. And we love Emma’s Cassandra Nova from the jump.”

Reynolds further teased, “Emma has an ability to so subtly change—to turn on a dime. There was an effortlessness, a sense of danger.”

Hugh Jackman also stars in Deadpool & Wolverine, which is directed by Shawn Levy. The film is the first R-rated movie of the MCU, so there’s a good chance Cassandra Nova will be spilling plenty of blood in Deadpool & Wolverine. Considering that the character is operating a base out of an Ant-Man variant’s skull, it’s safe to presume that Nova is very dangerous, requiring Wolvering to put his differences with Deadpool aside and team up to take on the multiversal foe.

Deadpool & Wolverine will be released in theaters on July 26, 2024