Neil Patrick Harris Is the New Voice of Deadpool

Neil Patrick Harris is the new Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds is absolutely and totally fine with that.

Bear in mind, Harris is not playing Deadpool in a new film; he’s actually the voice of Deadpool in the upcoming Deadpool VR video game. But few actors are more closely associated with a comic-book character than Reynolds is with Deadpool. At this point, he is Deadpool in the minds of most fans. But that’s not the case in this particular game.

In response to the news (and as part of promoting the game, of course) Reynolds posted a video reacting to the news of Harris’ casting as the VR Deadpool. I am not sure how many people alive today who are interested in a Deadpool video game will even get the joke here, but he’s spoofing Doogie Howser M.D., the late ’80s and early ’90s sitcom that gave a teenage Neil Patrick Harris his big Hollywood break playing a teenage child prodigy who becomes the young doctor in the country. You can watch the clip below:

READ MORE: Batman and Deadpool to Meet in New DC/Marvel Crossover

Here is a red-band trailer with more gameplay footage (and Neil Patrick Harris as Deadpool) to get a better sense of what the game actually looks like:

Meta describes the Deadpool VR game thusly:

Marvel’s Deadpool VR features an all-new original story. After being pulled through a portal to Mojoworld, Deadpool sees a chance to get rich — like really rich. He signs a sketchy contract without reading any of the fine print and then it’s off to visit a bunch of locations from across the Marvel universe, battling against iconic (and not-so-iconic) villains. It’s real metaverse stuff — in the Marvel Universe sense, not the VR one.

Deadpool VR will be available on Meta Quest 3 later in 2025. Stay tuned for further details on an official release date, and maybe a video of Ryan Reynolds going to White Castle or appearing on How I Met Your Mother or something.