How Marvel's Deadpool VR and Neil Patrick Harris turned an identity crisis into a playable experi...

The developers of the upcoming Meta VR release preview Marvel Easter eggs, the broader cast, and just how crazy you can get. How Marvel's Deadpool VR and Neil P

The developers of the upcoming Meta VR release preview Marvel Easter eggs, the broader cast, and just how crazy you can get.

How Marvel's Deadpool VR and Neil Patrick Harris turned an identity crisis into a playable experience (exclusive)

The developers of the upcoming Meta VR release preview Marvel Easter eggs, the broader cast, and just how crazy you can get.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in *Vanity Fair*, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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September 30, 2025 12:00 p.m. ET

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Deadpool, as voiced by Neil Patrick Harris, in 'Marvel's Deadpool VR'. Credit:

- Two developers on *Marvel's Deadpool VR* preview the controlled chaos that awaits Meta gamers in November.

- On casting Neil Patrick Harris as the Merc with a Mouth: "We didn't want to make a Deadpool based exactly on a movie or on specific comic eras."

- The devs tease the unannounced broader cast: "We really got a lot of interesting people to do cool things in the game."

There's something inherently fascinating about a Deadpool virtual-reality game. As the one in the VR headset, you are moving about a digital world through the famed Merc with a Mouth, operating his body as you see fit. At the same time, Mr. Wade Wilson is the kind of Marvel comics character to break the fourth wall to speak directly to his audience. How does he do that to the player when you are him? It's a conundrum, but a fun one!

The creators of *Marvel's Deadpool VR* are well aware that they've turned an identity crisis into a playable experience, and they've embraced that chaos.

"Deadpool will talk to the developers, also," lead designer Phil Therien tells ** in an exclusive interview. "You'll be like, 'Hey, this level is really unfair. I think you should give me a reward for doing this 'cause I've just been busting my ass and I deserve a weapon.'"

Deadpool traverses Lady Deathstrike's realm in 'Marvel's Deadpool VR'.

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The challenge was making sure Deadpool didn't annoy the player as much as he typically annoys everyone else around him with his incessant chatter, even when it comes from the voice of Neil Patrick Harris. "We did have a pretty good team of writers making sure that it was always gonna be entertaining and always gonna be funny," Therien notes. "We try to put him on the player's side."

Schmitz shares an example. "Deadpool will address you and be like, 'Hey, buddy! Look over there,' if you're not paying attention to what he wants you to pay attention to," he says. "There's a really fun back and forth of, I'm the player, but I'm Deadpool, but Deadpool's there, but he is also here."

Marvel swiftly got on board this fifth VR release from the developers at Twisted Pixels Games to present a new take on the katana-wielding, F-bomb-dropping, overall NSFW hero. That's partly why they cast Harris in the role as opposed to, say, Ryan Reynolds, who defined the character on screen for the past decade. Doogie Howser himself will now arrive as the merc in *Marvel's Deadpool VR*, available on the Meta Quest 3 and 3S starting Nov. 18.

"We didn't want to make a Deadpool based exactly on a movie or on specific comic eras," Schmitz explains. "We wanted to take inspiration from all of the Marvel universe and fold that into our own unique version."

John Leguizamo voices Mojo in 'Marvel's Deadpool VR'.

This story is a multiverse-hopping jaunt like last year's blockbuster *Deadpool & Wolverine*, but in this game, John Leguizamo arrives as Mojo, ruler of television-obsessed Mojo World. He needs new talent for his Mojo TV streaming programming, so he taps Deadpool to capture various Marvel villains from their natural habitats, including Lady Deathstrike in Japan, the demon Mephisto in Hell, Ultimo in the Spirit of Xandar in outer space (there may be some zero gravity moments), and Omega Red in the nation of Symkaria.

And that's just the beginning. Marvel and Twisted Pixels haven't announced all the voice talent of *Deadpool VR*, but Therien teases, "People will be happy and surprised when they see the cast. It's pretty awesome. We really got a lot of interesting people to do cool things in the game."

It starts with Harris himself. The opening level of *Deadpool VR* sees the Merc hired to recover a Helicarrier, and what's the quickest way to get something out of the sky? Shoot it down by launching a Jeep into it, of course. You, as Deadpool, get dismembered as a result, but you are Deadpool! So just wait to regenerate.

A screengrab from a battle sequence in 'Marvel's Deadpool VR'.

Harris' name came up early in the development process as the guy to bring this level of chaotic energy to life. "Ryan Reynolds did such a good job with Deadpool that people are using that as a comparison," Therien says. "For us, the trick was 'familiar but different.' ... For example, Deadpool has a massive pop culture knowledge, which Ryan Reynolds does. Neil Patrick Harris does, as well. In delivery, clearly, they reference different things; they have different interests."**

On a similar note, Leguizamo contributed ideas for the Mojo dialogue, according to Schmitz: "We let him steer a lot of it and in the direction he felt was right."

Aside from the overt character guest appearances, Deadpool will reference various figures from the comic book-based world that players may be familiar with. One in particular is S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill, played on the big screen by Cobie Smulders, Harris' former costar on *How I Met Your Mother*. As an Easter egg, Hill's name pops up on a plaque attached to a door you can find on the helicarrier level.

Battling ninjas in 'Marvel's Deadpool VR'.

Others are linked to familiar objects. You can acquire "Mojo Bucks" that gain you access to Mojo World knockoffs of hero weapons, like Thor's hammer, Hawkeye's bow and arrows, and Gambit's exploding throwing cards. Therien isn't embarrassed to say that Mojo was Marvel's idea for the game. The character "became not only an antagonist for Deadpool but also a really intrinsic part of the whole vibe," he says.

Perhaps the most enjoyable weapons to wield, however, are your own body parts. Deadpool loses a limb in combat? Well, pick up that limb and use it as a weapon to hit enemies. No arms? You can still kick, can't you? Need to get past an electronic door with a finger-print key lock? Chop off the unconscious scientist's hand!

It all lends itself to this idea of controlled chaos, which bleeds into all aspects of the game. As Therien puts it, "We want to be the game that says yes to the player. If you're like, 'Wouldn't it be cool if...?' there's a decent chance that somebody on the team came up with the same idea and we did something custom to support it."

Deadpool wields a Mojo version of Thor's hammer in 'Marvel's Deadpool VR'.

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That's also why Deadpool got a VR game and not a console game. The former is one of the few platforms out there, Therien says, where you can have that kind of creative freedom in combat. There are all sorts of combos you can execute between the katanas, pistols, Mojo knockoffs, and whatever other deadly trinkets you can swipe off your opponents. Therien clarifies that's just one option for play, though. You don't have to lean into full Deadpool chaos mode, but it's available to you.

As he says, "If you're the kind of person that wants to kick a dude into a grinder while you're grappling some guy in the air as you grab a grenade while in slow motion, you can do that." Like we said, controlled chaos.**

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