Why One Of Marvel's Biggest Stars Has A Cameo In Bullet Train

After a phenomenal debut co-directing "John Wick" and then solo directing "Atomic Blonde," David Leitch has had an interesting (if somewhat uneven) career. His 2022 offering "Bullet Train" was, as our own review described it, "fast and zippy, fittingly only slowing down to a turgid pace when the train comes to a stop." The action-comedy stars Brad Pitt as Ladybug, a professional assassin assigned to retrieve a briefcase from a bullet train, only to find himself in a never-ending fight against other killers who've boarded the same train, each with a different objective.

What was originally meant to be a hard-R, dark action film, one that may have been closer to Leitch's work on "John Wick," turned into a comedy during production, a change that star Aaron Taylor-Johnson credits his co-star Brian Tyree Henry and Leitch with. Indeed, Pitt's performance in the final film has more in common with the likes of Buster Keaton and Jackie Chan than the "John Wick" movies (in terms of how they combined action and comedy).

"Bullet Train" also features a star-studded cast, including many a known face in small roles. In fact, virtually everyone in the movie is a big star, whether it's Hiroyuki Sanada as The Elder, Sandra Bullock as Ladybug's handler, Michael Shannon as a Russian crime lord literally known as The White Death, or the surprising uncredited cameos by a pair of then-future "Deadpool & Wolverine" actors. That's right, before finally fulfilling his dream of bringing Gambit to life on the big screen, Channing Tatum briefly popped up in "Bullet Train," as did Ryan Reynolds.

Reynolds' cameo is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, appearing at the very end of the film as an assassin who many of the killers in "Bullet Train" confuse with Pitt's Ladybug. In an interview with IndieWire, producer Kelly McCormick once explained Reynolds' quick appearance, revealing it was actually a full-circle moment for him and Pitt. Specifically, according to McCormick, the cameo was "payback for Brad being in 'Deadpool 2' for two seconds." What's more, the producer said that the film's creatives purposely made the cameo similar to Pitt's in the "Deadpool" sequel. "The goal was that it's almost the exact same length," McCormick added.

In case you need a reminder: Pitt appeared in "Deadpool 2" for two seconds as The Vanisher, a character who is invisible until he dies by electrocution (at which point we see it was Pitt all along). It remains one of the best examples of how a cameo can make a movie better. Forget the Marvel Cinematic Universe introducing characters that will probably remain unused and be forgotten, like Harry Styles in "Eternals." Give me Pitt appearing for two seconds as a joke any day of the week, especially if that cameo leaves studio execs to be confused as hell (as was apparently the case when Pitt abruptly showed up in "Deadpool 2"). It's the same reason Matt Damon's own "Deadpool 2" cameo works so well; he is nearly unrecognizable, and it makes little sense for some random bystander to be played by an Oscar winner for just 20 seconds.