Ryan Reynolds stunned the world, nay, the universe… NAY… the multiverse… with a surprise announcement that Deadpool 3 finally has a release date… and a Wolverine. That’s right, after years of teasing that he and Hugh Jackman could team up for the continued adventures of the Merc With a Mouth, Reynolds dropped a video tease that ends with the once and future Logan actor agreeing to return as the famed X-Man in Deadpool 3. And now the long-awaited Deadpool 3 promises to be the only new MCU movie dropping in 2024 - July 26, 2024, to be specific.
With the first trailer for Deadpool 3 reportedly debuting during the Super Bowl, we're once again wondering what this team-up means for Deadpool, for Wolverine and for the MCU as a whole. We’ve got a bunch of burning questions about this fourth-wall-breaking MCU movie, so let’s dive in…
But Isn’t Wolverine Dead?
Yes! And no! While the great James Mangold film Logan did indeed kill off Jackman’s version of the character, let’s not forget that that movie didn’t necessarily fit into the proper Fox X-Men movie timeline. Of course, those movies always had problems with continuity to begin with, but it’s entirely possible to just consider Logan the movie as featuring what we now would refer to as a Variant version of Wolverine - in this case an older, even gruffer take on Jackman’s famous mutant. And yes, a bloodier version too.
In fact, Reynolds and Jackman did release a second video that addresses the Logan question in part. They acknowledged that that film takes place in 2029, and said it's a "totally separate thing" and they're "not touching that."
So even though he died, we could still be getting a totally different Variant on Wolverine in Deadpool 3. Maybe it’ll be a more comics-accurate version of Old Man Logan, or maybe it’ll be the Wolverine we know from most of the other X-Men movies. Or maybe it’ll just be a brand new spin on the character, like we saw with Patrick Stewart’s Professor X in Doctor Strange 2. That version of Xavier went the ’90s animated series route. We already know from set photos that Jackman is finally donning the iconic blue and yellow costume this time, so this Wolverine could be a more comic book or animation-inspired version of the character.
So Is the X-Men Movie Universe Fully Merging With the MCU?
All signs point to… we don’t know yet! But keep in mind that even the first two Deadpool movies never quite felt like they fully existed in the standard Fox X-Men world. Colossus looked and sounded way different for one thing, and some of the other X-Men characters didn’t really line up with those films… while some did. Hell, we even got what appeared to be a downed SHIELD helicarrier in the big battle at the end of Deadpool 1. That wouldn’t really fit in the standard Fox/X-Men movies.
Bottom line, none of Deadpool’s connections to the X-Men movies ever made much sense, but now’s the chance to tie it all together via… you guessed it, the multiverse! Phases 4, 5 and 6 of the MCU are collectively referred to as The Multiverse Saga, so the MCU is primed and ready for this kind of seemingly impossible crossover.
While Phase 4 narratively didn't much to move things along, the one thing it has established is that Kevin Feige and co. can do literally whatever they want. There’s a multiverse worth of Variants and Dr. Strange is happy to kill off all your fan-cast heroes in one fell swoop, so there are any number of ways this could happen. Plus, Kelsey Grammer's Beast just showed up at the end of The Marvels, so it appears as though the Multiverse Saga will keep revisiting the X-Men of the Fox universe. Or Variants of them, at least.
Where Does Deadpool 3 Fall in Phase 5 and 6?
A July 26, 2024, release date puts Deadpool 3 squarely in Phase 5, with Captain America: Brave New World closing things out the following February. Then, Fantastic Four kicks off Phase 6 in May 2025. What could happen between now and then that sets in motion the long-awaited Fox/X-Men universe officially landing in the MCU?
Or is the answer to that question… “not much really”? In which case, could Deadpool be responsible for merging everything in the build-up to Secret Wars?
John Krasinski, who is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the shortest time onscreen as a Marvel superhero who can stretch really far, followed up Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3 announcement with what we assume is a joke tweet, asking, “Wait… is this our movie?” But then again, we also thought the Reynolds announcement itself was a joke at first, and, as previously noted, Deadpool 3 is coming right before FF, so maybe none of this is a joke and Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four will be teased in Deadpool 3 and we take the MCU very, very seriously here! But, on the other hand, it seems Pedro Pascal will be the MCU's Reed Richards.
If nothing else, maybe this will explain how Professor X wound up in the Illuminati alongside Reed in Doctor Strange 2.
Are They Still Using the Deadpool/Wolverine Buddy Road Trip Idea?
Ryan Reynolds revealed in 2021 that before Disney bought Fox, the plan for Deadpool 3 was to make a road trip movie featuring Deadpool and Logan. He also noted that it would've been done "Rashomon style. For real," which of course refers to the Akira Kurosawa classic about a story that is told from multiple, clashing points of view.
Of course, it always has made sense that these two characters should team up onscreen in some way, as they’re both survivors of the Weapon X program. And the humor of this set-up feels pretty obvious, with Jackman’s Wolverine playing straight-man to Reynolds’ Deadpool. Except, in a Rashomon road trip, there would be plenty of opportunity to also depict Logan in new and ridiculous ways. Which is to say… let’s hope this idea is still on the table.
Does This All Set Up Secret Wars?
We know that the MCU's Multiverse Saga will culminate at the end of Phase 6 with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty in May 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars in May 2027. The modern Secret Wars comic saw the Multiverse destroyed and reform into one singular Battleworld populated by Variants from many different realities, so it seems like a safe bet that Marvel boss Kevin Feige and his team will pull out all the stops for that film, bringing in all manner of cameos and returning favorites for the culmination of this multiverse-spanning story.
A Robert Downey, Jr. return as a Variant Tony Stark almost seems inevitable, and you could also see other characters return like Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, and more. And let’s not forget that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man could play a part, meaning after decades of the characters being kept apart by two separate studios, we would finally witness Wolverine and Spidey share the screen together. But then there are the other worlds and characters floating around out there that would simply delight the fan-boys and -girls of the world if they showed up. Everyone from the Lou Ferrigno Hulk to the Wesley Snipes Blade is on the table, so bringing in Deadpool and Wolverine together is a surefire way to set up this dynamic in the years leading up to the Multiverse Saga’s big one-two punch finale. And don’t worry Logan movie fans, there’s no reason we can’t get a younger Wolverine and an older version in Secret Wars as well, side by side…
What Do Deadpool and Wolverine Do to a Potential Avengers Lineup?
If Deadpool and Wolverine are now running around the MCU, we can’t help but wonder what effect that will have on the Avengers. Can a team comprised of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes afford not to include these two immortal killing machines?
Let’s not forget that both Logan and Wade have been card-carrying members of the Avengers in the comics. Wolverine spent years dividing his time between the X-Men and Avengers. And when funding for the Avengers dried up in the aftermath of 2015’s Secret Wars, it was Deadpool who opened up his wallet and bankrolled a new version of the Uncanny Avengers.
Long story short, if either of these two characters are sticking around the MCU after Deadpool 3, we could very easily see them join the Avengers. What a ride that would be.
But what do you think? What does this news mean for the future of the Marvel movies? Let’s discuss in the comments!
Note: This article was originally published on September 27, 2022 and updated on February 9, 2024 with the latest news about Deadpool 3.
