Deadpool & Wolverine’s Ryan Reynolds Praises ‘Skin-Covered Swiss Army Knife’ Emma Corrin’s Villain Performance

Deadpool & Wolverine pits the titular heroes, played by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, against the terrifying villain Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin). Nova is the twin sister of Charles Xavier, and an immensely powerful mutant. The first trailer for the film has already showcased her immense power when she sent Wolverine reeling into the ground at the flick of a wrist. Reynolds’ equates Nova’s on-screen danger and presence to Corrin’s incredible performance.

The Deadpool star spoke to Harper’s Bazaar as part of a profile piece on Emma Corrin, and had nothing but praise for their acting abilities. Of course, Corrin’s talent needs little introduction, as they recently earned a Critic’s Choice Award, a Golden Globe, and an Emmy nomination for their portrayal of Princess Diana in Netflix’s The Crown. “It felt like working with a skin-covered Swiss Army knife,” Reynolds said about his co-star. He continued:

“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 f*cking 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.”

Hugh Jackman, who returns as Wolverine for the film, joined in with heaping praise on Corrin, saying that their performance keeps audiences guessing, in a total state of suspense at the edge of their seats. Jackman described her talent, saying:

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

Emma Corrin Is Excited to Play a Villain in Deadpool & Wolverine

Emma Corrin has previously discussed her excitement about joining the MCU in a villainous role whilst speaking to Empire Magazine, describing it as “an itch I want to scratch.” During the interview, Corrin did admit that they’re not a comic book person, and had to be brought up to speed with the what’s what and the who’s who of the MCU. “Hands up, I’m not a Marvel person,” Corrin said. They admitted that they’d seen Spider-Man and Black Panther, but couldn’t tell their Thanos from their Loki, joking “there’s so much to it, it’s an absolute mind-f*ck.” While they weren’t aware of many of the characters, Corrin said they were incredibly impressed by the level of worldbuilding. Corrin continued:

“‘Look, you’re gonna have to debrief me into this.’ It’s such an intricate world. All the language and the Easter eggs, and this person is related to that person who did this, and this person came back and this person’s dead… it’s amazing.”

While Emma Corrin is the newcomer to Deadpool & Wolverine, the movie features many returning characters from the Merc with a Mouth’s time under the 20th Century Fox banner. Re-joining Reynolds in Marvel Studios’ first R-Rated outing is Morena Baccarin (Vanessa), Karan Soni (Dopinder), Leslie Uggams (Blind Al), Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic Teenage Warhead), Shioli Kutsuna (Yukio), Stefan Kapicic (Colossus), and Rob Delaney (Peter), among many others.