A lot is resting on the success of Deadpool & Wolverine, the third installment of the Deadpool films, and for good reason. The sequel will be the Marvel Cinematic Universe's only theatrical release all year, which is an abrupt change in pace for Marvel fans used to receiving at least three new blockbusters annually.
The studio's most recent release didn't exactly bode well for the fate of the once-infallible franchise. The Marvels, a follow-up to 2019's Captain Marvel, had the worst debut of any film in MCU history — a title previously held by The Incredible Hulk. During its opening weekend, The Marvels brought in $47 million from North American audiences and $63 million internationally, Comscore reported.
Plus, fans are eagerly waiting to see if the Merc with a Mouth keeps his.... well... mouth. While Deadpool and Deadpool 2 were both released by 21st Century Fox, the upcoming sequel will be released under the Disney banner after acquiring Fox in 2019.
Until now, all movies in the MCU were rated PG-13, no doubt to maintain the House of Mouse's family friendly reputation. But fear not! In a 2021 interview with Collider, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige assured fans that Deadpool 3 "will be rated R," though we'll have to wait and see how raunchy things get. In the meantime, here's everything we do know about Deadpool & Wolverine:
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Deadpool & Wolverine Release Date
The third Deadpool film premieres in theaters July 26, 2024.
The release date has been through many changes over the last few years. Deadpool & Wolverine was originally scheduled to debut Sept. 6 but was pushed back to Nov. 8 after production paused on Blade. The release date was then further pushed back to May 3, which once again had to be altered amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Following the strike's conclusion, Disney announced the film's current July release date along with other revised premiere dates for other Marvel films.
Production officially wrapped on the third Deadpool movie Jan. 24. The film's stars, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, commemorated the occassion on Twitter/X with sappy posts thanking the cast and crew.
“The suit hides the blood. Also sweat... But today, with Deadpool wrapping, it's mostly tears," Reynolds wrote. "A giant and forever thanks to the cast and crew of our film who battled wind, rain, strikes and @RealHughJackman... all under the stalwart leadership of @ShawnLevyDirect… I got to make a movie with my closest pals and that doesn’t happen very often.”
The suit hides the blood. Also sweat... But today, with Deadpool wrapping, it's mostly tears. A giant and forever thanks to the cast and crew of our film who battled wind, rain, strikes and @RealHughJackman... all under the stalwart leadership of @ShawnLevyDirect
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) January 24, 2024
I got to make a… pic.twitter.com/aEasnxo6cD
Deadpool & Wolverine is part of Phase Five in the MCU, which will cap off next February with Captain America: Brave New World.
Latest Trailer
The teaser trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine was released Feb. 11 during a Super Bowl LVIII commercial break. It's the first official trailer to see the light of day for the upcoming Deadpool film, and it certainly did not disappoint: the two minute and 25 second video became the most viewed trailer of all time, totaling over 365 million views in 24 hours.
The trailer opens with a heartfelt birthday celebration for Wade Wilson, who, we must add, is rocking a new hair-do. Surrounding Wade is his chosen family — his girlfriend Vanessa, friends from the X-Mansion, and members of the X-Force that Wade recruited in the last film.
The festivities are cut short, however, when the Time Variance Authority comes knocking on Wade's door. Those who watched the Loki series on Disney+ are already familiar with these ruthless time cops, who "prune" entire universes that divert from the Sacred Timeline. This time, it's not destruction these TVA agents are after; they kidnap Deadpool in an attempt to recruit him, but for what cause remains to be seen.
In the final moments of the teaser, fans get their first look at the film's title — Deadpool & Wolverine — which had yet to be announced until now. But considering Wolverine is important enough in this film to warrant his name being in the title, Jackman's character appears surprisingly little in the teaser.
In his first appearance, viewers see the hero from behind, clothed in a white tuxedo. The attire is signature to Patch, an alias used by Wolverine, as fans were quick to point out. In another brief shot, viewers catch a glimpse of the character's classic yellow costume while descending on Deadpool in battle.
Prior to the trailer release, the only information Deadpool fans had to go off of was a series of videos posted on Ryan Reynolds YouTube channel in September 2022.
The first video in the two-part series, titled "Deadpool Update" is an 80-second clip where Reynolds acknowledges that the upcoming film will function as Deadpool's entrance into the MCU. Reynolds goes on to explain that the character's first MCU appearance "needs to feel special," before saying, "Hey Hugh, you want to play Wolverine one more time?"
On cue, Jackman walks into frame and agrees, at which point Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" starts blasting.
Less than 24 hours later, Reynolds posted another video titled "Deadpool Update, Part Hugh" where he and Jackman attempt to explain to viewers how it's even possible for Wolverine to appear in another MCU film after how things left off in 2017's Logan. Under their logic, Logan takes place in 2029 and is a "totally separate thing," Reynolds said. "Logan died in Logan. Not touching that."
Deadpool & Wolverine Cast and Crew
Returning Marvel Cast Members
Ryan Reynolds will be reprising his role as the titular anti-hero, in addition to holding credits as a writer and producer on the film. Joining him in the spotlight is Jackman, who is coming out of Marvel retirement to play Wolverine.
The upcoming Deadpool film marks Jackman's tenth time portraying the clawed mutant, though Reynolds made it clear that this version of Wolverine will be "something completely new" from what audiences have seen in past movies: "What we pitched him was enough of a divergence from the character that he knows and the character that he's left behind that it gives him something completely new to play and something that he's really excited to do," the Deadpool actor told ET Canada.
What we pitched him was enough of a divergence from the character that he knows and the character that he's left behind that it gives him something completely new to play
“
Returning cast members from the Deadpool series include Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Shioli Kutsun as her girlfriend, Yukio, Stefan Kapicic as Colossus, Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Karan Soni as Dopinder, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al and Rob Delaney as Peter.
There will be one notable absence among the X-Force in the upcoming sequel: Domino, played by Zazie Beetz, will not make an appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine. There's also no word yet on if we'll see Cable return in this next Deadpool film.
Instead, Aaron Stanford, who played Pyro in the original X-men franchise, will reprise his role in the new film. Jennifer Garner is also going back to her roots as Elektra, a character she last played 19 years ago in the self-titled 2005 movie.
Leaked photos from the set of the film also have fans speculating that X-Men antagonists Sabretooth and Toad may be back as well, though it's not confirmed if any of the original actors for these roles were brought back on to play these characters.
Fresh Faces to the Franchise
Emmy award-winner Matthew Macfayden, best known for his performance on HBO's Succession, will be joining the cast of Deadpool & Wolverine as Paradox. It's the first time the character has ever appeared in an MCU film, and it looks like he'll be Deadpool's direct line of contact to the TVA in the upcoming film, similar to Mobius and Loki's relationship in the Disney+ series.
Emma Corrin was previously cast to play the movie's villain, and though we're not entirely sure who that is yet, we have a pretty good guess. The official teaser trailer showed a fleeting image of the backside of someone's head — they're bald and have slightly pointy ears, which screams Professor X. Fans suspect the character could be Cassandra Nova, the twin sister of Charles Xavier who was introduced to the Marvel comics with 2001's New X-Men #114.
Director Shawn Levy also revealed that there will be plenty of exciting cameos in the upcoming film: "What blew my mind also is how easy some of those cameos have been," he reflected in an October 2023 interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "People love Deadpool. People love Ryan. Thankfully, people also seem to like my work. They know that Ryan and I are in a groove of creative brotherhood that is unique and seems to be working.”
A full cast list has yet to be released, which has left room for rumors to brew: there's speculation that Daniel Radcliffe could be playing a version of Wolverine and we've even heard Swifties say they think the Cruel Summer singer could be playing Dazzler in the upcoming film.
Most recently, a cloaked figure wearing a mask that fans spotted in the trailer has rumors circulating of Doctor Doom's potential MCU debut. That, paired with the fact that a comic book featuring Doctor Doom on the cover can be seen strewn on the ground next to Wade in an aerial shot at the end of the teaser.
Behind the Scenes
Levy takes the helm as director of the upcoming film, having previously worked with Reynolds on Free Guy and The Adam Project.
The writers of Bob's Burgers, Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin, were originally supposed to pen the project, but the original writers of the franchise, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, were brought back on to the project instead in 2022. Reynolds, Levy and Zeb Wells also hold writer credits on the upcoming film.
The project is being produced by Feige, Reynolds, Levy, and Lauren Shuler Donner. Executive producers include Reese, Wernick, Louis D’Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, George Dewey, Simon Kinberg, and Jonathon Komack Martin.
Story Details
It's no secret that the continuity of the X-Men films is, to put it delicately, a dumpster fire. Not to point fingers, but X-Men: First Class, we're looking at you. From dead characters reappearing in later movies with no context to the age and physical abilities of Professor X, there's a lot that doesn't add up — especially once you throw Deadpool in the mix.
I don't have to screw with the Logan timeline, which was important to me.
“
Talking about how Deadpool & Wolverine will tie all these loose strings together, Jackman told SiriusXM, "It’s all because of this device they have in the Marvel world of moving around timelines. Now we can go back because, you know, it’s science. So I don’t have to screw with the Logan timeline, which was important to me.”
We'll do our best to break down what you need to know from previous films before Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters below, or you can check out our guide on where to watch Deadpool movies to see them yourself.
Deadpool
The original Deadpool film is the origin story of Wade Wilson, a Special Forces operative who becomes a mercenary after undergoing a dangerous experiment that leaves him with healing powers. Under the alias "Deadpool," Wade attempts to hunt down the man who used him as a test subject. If you haven't seen it yet, it's a great introduction to the franchise that lays out Deadpool's origin story in far more detail than 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Deadpool 2
The second Deadpool film begins with Wade failing to save his girlfriend, Vanessa, from being murdered. Still in a state of grief, he's brought to the X-Mansion where he reluctantly joins the X-Men. His time on the team is short-lived, however, before the mercenary decides to assemble his own team of mutant rogues to save a 14-year-old boy with supernatural powers from a time-traveling cyborg named Cable.
But the most important set-up for the upcoming sequel doesn't come until the end credits roll. In a mid-credits scene, it's revealed that Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Yukio fixed Wade's time traveling device. What follows is a sequence of clips showing Wade going back in time to save Vanessa and fellow X-Force members from being killed.
At one point, Wade even goes back to a particularly climactic moment that fans might remember from X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In the original film, Wolverine comes face-to-face with Wade Wilson, who has been transformed into Weapon XI on Stryker Island. This time around, Deadpool cuts the scene short by shooting himself to prevent a battle with Logan from ever happening.
“Hey, it’s me, don’t scratch. Cleaning up the timeline," Deadpool shouts to Logan from across the room, all the while continuing to fire bullets into his lifeless corpse. "Look, eventually you’re going to hang up the claws and it’s going to make a lot of people very sad. But one day your old pal Wade is going to ask you to get back on the saddle again. And when he does, say 'yes.'”
The X-Men Franchise
There's a lot of ground to cover if you're planning on catching up on the X-Men movies featuring Wolverine before the third Deadpool film premieres. If you're looking for a place to start, we'd recommend first making your way through the Days of Future Past timeline:
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
- X-Men (2000)
- X2 (2003)
- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
- The Wolverine (2013)
- X-Men Days of Future Past (2014)
Once you've gotten through these, you can start on the Deadpool movies. And if you want to watch Logan for good measure, just know that it exists outside of both the X-Men and Deadpool timelines. According to Logan director James Mangold, the Wolverine solo film takes place about five years after X-Men: Days of Future Past.
If you were to only choose one of the movies on our list, watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Despite being heavily criticized upon its release, it's the first time Jackman and Reynolds shared the screen together for a Marvel film, and if you're unfamiliar with the duo's beef, this film gives you a pretty good idea.
For more information on Deadpool & Wolverine, check out our overview of all the easter eggs and X-Men cameos from the first trailer or our six biggest burning questions about the film's debut.
Katie Reul is a freelance journalist whose entertainment reporting has been featured in IGN and Variety.
