TAGGED AS: comic book movies, Marvel, marvel cinematic universe, movies, Superheroes
[Updated 5/29/24]
Your old pal Deadpool will soon be back. While that means a new movie, it also means another strange and funny media blitz, care of the Merc with a Mouth and his human caretaker, actor Ryan Reynolds. Indeed, Wade Wilson (Deadpool’s civilian name) began his latest operation to place himself in the minds of moviegoers sometime ago, but it went into overdrive with a commercial for the teaser trailer during the Big Game in February.
Nevertheless, questions remain as Deadpool’s universe has utterly changed since last we saw him. The separate X-Men universe he resided in ended with Dark Phoenix and his Mutant brethren have yet to make themselves known in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For someone who knows he is a fictional character controlled and traded by multinational corporations, Wade must be aware that he’s a Disney character, right? One joke in the teaser confirms it!
Let’s take a look at everything we know about Deadpool & Wolverine and see if we can’t determine how much he really knows about his new state of affairs.
When we last saw Wade, he lost his beloved Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), joined the X-Men, faced off against Cable (Josh Brolin), managed to fix the timestream, save Vanessa, and erase the Green Lantern film from existence.
And then his film rights returned to Marvel when Disney acquired most of 20th Century Fox in 2019.
Not long after, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige admitted work had begun on developing a third Deadpool film and that it would the company’s first R-rated tale. Devised without too much incident — beyond first and second film writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick replacing the initial team of Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin — it also evaded a lot of the turmoil surrounding Marvel’s production process in the last few years. Even the writer and actor strikes of 2023 couldn’t delay the film too much. It is, in fact, the only Marvel feature scheduled for release this year.
(Photo by ©20th Century Studios/©Marvel)
As revealed in the trailer, Wade spent the last several years in relative peace with Vanessa and his friends surrounding him. But then the Time Variance Authority — last seen in the closing moments of Loki‘s second season — comes calling, and an agent named Paradox co-opts him into a mission of… Well, we assume it’s important, even if subsequent scenes see Deadpool fighting TVA hunters.
Presumably, finding his place in universes both foreign and familiar will occupy much of Deadpool’s time in the film. The presence of the TVA will confirm for him any nagging suspicion his reality has been altered — although the joke about pegging being new for Disney suggests he’s already aware of that particular change.
Another reason why he proclaims himself “Marvel Jesus.”
See also: the end of the trailer released on April 22nd in which he mentions Feige’s desire to avoid cocaine (and its various slang names) as a topic in the film.
His mission will feature a few familiar faces, including the second title character (more on him in a moment), and even some truly surprising guest characters as the film both says goodbye to the way things used to be and embraces the fact Deadpool’s life will be more Marvel and more Cinematic going forward. It will also be something of a road movie a la Midnight Run or Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Oh, and we suppose it will be the formal introduction of Mutants into the MCU after teases in Ms. Marvel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and The Marvels. Also, we still like to think Deadpool’s introduction to the universe is the incursion Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Clea (Charlize Theron) ran off to fight at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The presence of a sling ring portal in the April trailer means it is possible they will appear. Then again, the presence of the TVA may mean Clea’s incursion will have to wait for another film.
(Photo by ©Marvel Studios)
Thanks to the way Marvel films and the X-Men movies before them operated, Deadpool can go just about anywhere. Deadpool 2 saw Wade squatting in the X-Mansion and heading to the frozen environs of the Ice Box. The first film took place in a metro area that suspiciously resembled Vancouver.
Also, one shot in the trailer featuring the back of a famous Marvel Mutant suggests the crime city of Madripoor will feature in at least one sequence. It was last seen in The Falcon and the Winter Solider.
But the setting of the film is one of its more interesting puzzles. Thanks to the nature of the Marvel Multiverse, he could still be in the familiar Fox reality of the older X-Men pictures. Then again, he could wake up and sense that something isn’t right. Considering a pretty infamous picture from the set featuring a crumbled 20th Century Fox logo (glimpsed in both trailers), though, he may also pop in between universes as one ends and another begins. Some of speculated the wasteland with the old Fox logo featured in both trailers is, in fact, the same place as Loki‘s Citadel at the End of Time. Or, at the very least, the Fox equivalent of the same idea.
No matter what, expect to see the X-Men’s mansion and maybe even the MCU’s New York before Wade finds a new way to lampoon the Marvel end-credit stinger scene.
(Photo by Instagram: @VancityReynolds)
As mentioned above, Reynolds resumes his job as Deadpool in the film. But in a stunning move, he will be joined by Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. The latter previously announced he would retire from the role following 2017’s Logan, but he and Reynolds began a coy game of back-and-forth about that declaration on social media. The posts and retorts culminated when Reynolds posted a video of himself and Jackman to confirm the return.
Subsequent set photos also revealed that, for the first time ever, Jackman will wear a more “accurate” Wolverine costume with the yellow and blue color scheme — a notable change as Jackman’s Wolverine once complained about the X-Men’s all-black attire to hear Cyclops (James Marsden) say, “What would you prefer, yellow spandex?”
The trailer released in April also offers a couple of clues into the state of Wolverine. He seemingly isn’t the same one featured in Logan or X-Men: Days of Future Past. Instead, he is another take on the character who “let down” his world and tries to drink the guilt away — although he seems to be so universally reviled that even bartenders want nothing to do with him. Deadpool also suggests that this Wolverine saved the universe, so expect his differences from the character as depicted in previous films to become a story point.
Unless, of course, he is the Logan from Days of Future Past. That could have some interesting ramifications.
Other returning players include Leslie Uggams as Wade’s former roommate, Blind Al; Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, the apathetic and phone-obsessed junior X-Man; Shiori Kutsuna as Yukio, Negasonic’s mutant girlfriend; Karan Soni as faithful taxicab driver Dopinder; Stefan Kapičić as the voice of metallic X-Man Colossus; and Rob Delaney as Peter, the thoroughly human member of Deadpool’s short-lived X-Force team. Also, set photos indicate a version of the Sabretooth from the original 2000 X-Men will appear, but it is unclear if Tyler Mane will reprise the role. After the photo was published, Reynolds took an unusual step and asked fans not to repost paparazzi shots from the set to preserve the film’s secrets.
The cast also goes deeper with reports that Patrick Stewart will make a cameo appearance — at the very least — as Charles Xavier and that Jennifer Garner will once again play Elektra, a Marvel character she previous portrayed in Fox’s Daredevil and Elektra films, though it remains to be seen just how extensive her participation will be. Also, eagle-eyed viewers of the teaser trailer are speculating whether or not Doctor Doom is present in one of its many shots of a desert wasteland.
(Photo by ©Marvel Studios)
Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfadyen join the ensemble for this installment. With the April trailer, Corrin was finally confirmed to be playing Cassandra Nova while Macfadyen is the face of TVA Agent Paradox. As there are several characters who go by that name in Marvel lore, it is unclear which Paradox he may be inspired by, although some online conjecture is marking him as a trans-dimensional judge who debuted in a run of She-Hulk. Prior to the teaser’s release, Mcdayden’s character was said to be something of a “third wheel” on Deadpool and Wolverine’s journey. Additionally, Reynolds made a big splash in November 2023 by announcing animal actor Peggy will appear as Dogpool, who makes a brief appearance in the April trailer.
Corrin’s character, meanwhile, is kind of a big deal. Introduced when writer Grant Morrison took over the main X-Men title — then called New X-Men — Cassandra was the primary antagonist. Revealed to be the psychic projection of a twin Charles Xavier absorbed in the womb, she has most of his abilities and strengths. Her telekinesis, for example, can be glimpsed in the trailer. But we imagine she shares her comic book counterpart’s ambitions, which could be a huge problem if she is aware of the Mutliverse and the myriad worlds in which she does not exist. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if the TVA itself typically deals with her variants whenever they appear. Although, that leaves us to wonder why this particular Cassandra requires both Deadpool and Wolverine to assist the TVA in stopping her.
And lastly, to round out the blasts from the past, the teaser trailer released in February revealed another familiar face, namely Aaron Stanford as Pyro, a character he last played in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. And the April trailer went even further, as the introduction of Corrin’s character also revealed what appeared to be the lifeless body of a certain large Avenger, as well as a gang of villains that included some baddies from previous films.
After directing Reynolds in Free Guy and The Adam Project, Stranger Things executive producer Shawn Levy became the actor’s preferred choice to helm the film, taking over from Deadpool 2’s David Leitch and the first film’s Tim Miller. It is an illustrious company of filmmakers, so it will be interesting to see how Levy, who also directed Jackman in 2011’s Real Steel, adapts to the specific challenges of a Deadpool movie and a Marvel production.
Levy also receives a writing credit alongside Marvel Studios veteran Zeb Wells, Reynolds, Wernick, Reese, Molyneux, and Molyneux-Logelin — we can’t wait to see how that credit will look on screen. As it happens, Reynolds’ participation in the story and his tendency to ad-lib caused some concern in the early days of the Writer’s Strike, as guild rules prohibited him from doing anything besides what was written in the extant script pages. Production was delayed and eventually shut down as the actors also went on strike. It resumed in November.
Reynolds and Levy also serve as producers alongside Feige and X-Men film stalwart Simon Kinberg.
Additional crew includes director of photography George Richmond of Free Guy and the two mainline Kingsman films, editor Shane Reid, production designer Ray Chan, costume designers Graham Churchyard and Mayes C. Rubeo, and composer Rob Simonsen. For Reid, the film continues his move to feature film editing after years in shorts and music videos. He also edited 2024’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.
(Photo by ©20th Century Studios/©Marvel)
Since it was announced, Deadpool & Wolverine has always held a 2024 release, but with the strikes and other calendar shifts, it will now debut on July 26. Wade’s future after that is anyone’s guess. He could end up working at the TVA or embrace oblivion as Marvel Studios sets out to reintroduce the X-Men into its main film universe. Or, maybe, his actions will allow a more recognizable group of Mutants to inhabit the MCU. In any event, we expect his reaction will be hilarious.
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) opens in theaters on July 26, 2024.
