Ryan Reynolds just stunned the world, no, the universe… NO… 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 has just released a tease video that ends with the once-and-future Logan actor agreeing to be more famous X-Man return in Deadpool 3. Not only that, the movie finally has a release date: September 6th, 2024.
But what does that mean not only for Deadpool and Wolverine, but also for the MCU itself? We’ve got a bunch of burning questions about this groundbreaking fourth wall news story, so let’s dive in…
But isn’t Wolverine dead?
Yes! And no! While the great James Mangold movie Logan did kill Jackman’s version of the character, let’s not forget that this movie didn’t necessarily fit into the correct Fox X-Men movies timeline. Of course, these films always had continuity issues initially, but it’s entirely possible to view Logan as the film that showcases what we’d now call a variant version of Wolverine – in this case, an older, even grittier version of the more famous Jackman mutant. And yes, a bloodier version too.
So even though he died, we could still get a completely different twist on Wolverine in Deadpool 3. Maybe it’ll be a more comic-accurate version of Old Man Logan, or maybe it’ll be the Wolverine we know from most of the other X-Men films. Or maybe it’s just a brand new take on the character, like we saw with Patrick Stewart’s Professor X in Doctor Strange 2. This version of Xavier went the route of the 90’s animated series, so what if Deadpool 3 also pulls from our collective nostalgia and so we finally get Hugh Jackman in the yellow and blue Wolverine costume?
So does the X-Men cinematic universe fully merge with the MCU?
All signs are pointing up… we don’t know yet! But keep in mind that even the first two Deadpool films never felt like they fully existed in the standard Fox X-Men world. Colossus looked and sounded very different, for one, and some of the other X-Men characters didn’t really fit those movies…while some did. Hell, we even have what looked like a downed SHIELD helicopter in the big battle at the end of Deadpool 1. That wouldn’t really fit into the standard Fox/X-Men movies.
Bottom line, none of Deadpool’s ties to the X-Men movies ever made much sense, but now’s a 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 sort of seemingly impossible crossover.
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While Phase 4 didn’t do much narratively to move things forward, it did establish that Kevin Feige and co. can literally do whatever they want. There is a multiverse of variants and Dr. Strange is happy to kill all of your fan cast heroes in one fell swoop, so there are many ways this could happen.
Where does Deadpool 3 fit in? Stages 5 and 6?
With a September 6, 2024 release date, Deadpool 3 ranks first in Phase 6, closely followed by Fantastic Four in November of the same year. What could happen in Thunderbolts that wraps up Phase 5 and kickstarts the long-awaited Fox/X-Men universe that officially lands in the MCU?
Or is the answer to this question … “not much actually”? In this case, could Deadpool be responsible for bringing everything together leading up to Secret Wars?
John Krasinski, who holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the shortest time on screen as a Marvel superhero who can stretch really far, backed off on Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3 announcement with what we’re assuming is a is joke tweetasking, “Wait…is this our movie?” But then again, we also thought the announcement of Reynolds himself was a joke at first, and as mentioned, Deadpool 3 comes right before FF, so maybe none of that is a joke and Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four are being pulled in Deadpool 3 and we’re taking the MCU very, very seriously here!
Also, this may explain how Professor X ended 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 starring Deadpool and Logan. He also noted that it would have been done “Rashomon style”. Really, which of course refers to Akira Kurosawa’s classic about a story told from multiple, conflicting points of view.
Of course, since they’re both Weapon X program survivors, it always made sense that these two characters should somehow come together on screen. And the humor of this setup feels pretty obvious with Jackman’s playing Wolverine straight against Reynolds’ Deadpool. Except that on a Rashomon road trip there would be ample opportunity to portray Logan in new and ridiculous ways too. That said… let’s hope that idea is still on the table.
Does this all start 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 2025 and Avengers: Secret Wars in November 2025. The modern Secret Wars comic saw the multiverse destroyed and reformed into a singular Battleworld populated by variants from many different realities, so it seems like a safe bet that Marvel boss Kevin Feige and his team have them all for this film Pulling out stops, throwing in all manner of cameos and favorites returning for the climax of this multiverse. Exciting story.
A return from Robert Downey, Jr. as Variant Tony Stark seems all but inevitable, and you might see other characters return as well, such as Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, and more. And let’s not forget that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man could play a part, meaning that after decades of keeping the characters separate from two separate studios, we’d finally get to witness Wolverine and Spidey sharing the screen together. But then there are the other worlds and characters that are out there that the fan boys and girls of that world would just delight in showing up. Everyone from the Lou Ferrigno Hulk to the Wesley Snipes Blade is on the table, so bringing Deadpool and Wolverine together is a surefire way to build that momentum in the months leading up to the multiverse saga’s grand double whammy finale. And don’t worry Logan movie fans, there’s no reason why we can’t also get a younger Wolverine and an older version side by side in Secret Wars…
What are Deadpool and Wolverine doing with a potential Avengers lineup?
With Deadpool and Wolverine now walking around in the MCU, we can’t help but wonder how that will affect the Avengers. Can a team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes afford to do without these two immortal killing machines?
Let’s not forget that both Logan and Wade were card-carrying members of the Avengers in the comics. Wolverine spent years dividing his time between the X-Men and the Avengers. And when funding for the Avengers dried up after 2015’s Secret Wars, it was Deadpool who opened up his wallet and funded a new version of the Uncanny Avengers.
Long story short, if either of these two characters stays in the MCU after Deadpool 3, we could very easily see them join the Avengers. What a ride that would be.
The Deadpool/Wolverine logo from the Deadpool 3 announcement video.
But what do you think? What does this news mean for the future of Marvel movies? Let’s discuss in the comments!
#Deadpool #Wolverines #MCU #Debut #Biggest #Burning #Questions #IGN
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