Deadpool & Wolverine: Who Is Lady Deadpool's Stunt Performer?

This article contains mild spoilers for "Deadpool & Wolverine."

When the trailers first dropped for "Deadpool & Wolverine," one of the biggest box office hits of 2024, fans were immediately consumed with trying to figure out which of their favorite superheroes was going to pop up with cameos. Audiences already knew that Jennifer Garner would be reprising her role as Elektra, but who would join her? Just when it seemed as if the fancasting predictions had finally hit their peak, a second "Deadpool & Wolverine" trailer hit the timelines. With only a week until the film arrived in theaters, Marvel drummed up even more hype for the long-awaited team-up of Wade Wilson and Logan with the reveal of what appeared to be a mysterious Deadpool variant, Lady Deadpool.

Lady Deadpool is the main female variant of Deadpool from the alternate timeline Earth-3010. The trailer (and subsequent movie) showed her in a Deadpool suit with a long, bleach-blonde high ponytail popping out of her Deadpool mask. Discussions immediately pivoted to trying to figure out not just how and why Lady Deadpool was appearing in the film, but who was playing her.

Taylor Swift was one of the earliest rumors of being the star beneath the suit, but most predicted the character would be played by actress Blake Lively, who is also Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds' wife. Lively was, of course, the true Lady Deadpool, which makes the meta-joke about her having just had a kid and still looking super hot infinitely less weird. Three of their children appear as the variants: Babypool, the foul-mouthed Kidpool, and a "screaming mutant," while another was credited as "Hugh Jackman Wrangler."

But the pregnancy joke about Lively was very real, and given the intense action in the Deadpool Corps battle scene, she had seasoned stunt performer Christiaan Bettridge take her place.

Christiaan "Stanni" Bettridge made her stunt performer debut on the SyFy TV series "Hunters" in 2016 and soon after appeared in the "H2O" spin-off "Mako Mermaids" for Netflix. The following year she nabbed a seriously super role in "Wonder Woman" when she was cast as the stunt double for star Gal Gadot. She was also cast to double Connie Nielsen, who played Queen Hippolyta, but in the years since Bettridge has become Gadot's go-to double.

In addition to doubling as Wonder Woman in "Justice League" and "Wonder Woman: 1984," she also performed stunts for Gadot's characters in "Red Notice" and "Heart of Stone." Bettridge comes from a ballet background, and she credits her dance training to helping her grasp fight choreography quickly, as she explained in an interview with Scholastic. But Wonder Woman introduced a new set of skills into her arsenal, including weapons like staff and swords.

Gadot drew attention to Betteridge on Instagram back in 2020, thanking her for being a fantastic double and honoring her incredible talents: 

"I can't wait for the world to see how hard this woman worked, spending hours fighting and being cinched up in harnesses, without giving up, and always giving your absolute all. It's been an amazing journey so far, and I am so incredibly grateful for it and to be able to get up every morning for a job I love, surrounded by people who inspire me every day to keep learning and improving. Bring on the future and more kicking butt!"

Bettridge doubling for Blake Lively as Lady Deadpool makes complete sense. Not only did she already know her way around superhero movies, but Ryan Reynolds also starred in "Red Notice" (accompanied by one of his "Deadpool" doubles, Jonny James), so he's seen her crush it firsthand.

Since doubling for Gadot, Bettridge has kept herself extremely busy. She was Famke Janssen's double in the Netflix thriller "Locked In," joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe prior to "Deadpool & Wolverine" when she was on the stunt team for "The Marvels," and is set to start production as Uma Thurman's stunt double in "The Old Guard 2," which absolutely is still happening after over four years of waiting.

"Red Notice 2" is allegedly going to start filming sometime in late 2024, and it's likely Bettridge will return to double for Gadot once again. As for future superhero films, there's no telling what the future will hold. Bettridge has proven to be a powerful force in both DC and Marvel films, and there are plenty of opportunities for both worlds to keep her very busy. While it's assumed that she'll continue her work in the stunt industry, Bettridge is also set to launch her own online personal training program, so us common folk can hope to one day be as strong and agile as the folks who take the hits in superhero movies.

She can be found on Instagram @StanniBombani, where she posts updates about her upcoming personal training program, as well as her upcoming marriage to fellow stunt performer Andy Lister, who is famed for being Chris Evans' stunt double as Captain America. Lister was also the assistant stunt coordinator on the film, playing one of the many Time Variance Authority agents Deadpool beat the brakes off of using Logan's adamantium skeletal remains.

Stunts and romance, you love to see it.