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Credit: Marvel StudiosWith just over a month to go until the release of Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), Shawn Levy’s new Marvel Cinematic Universe entry, new reports have surfaced regarding the status of two classic characters.
Deadpool & Wolverine will be the third movie in the Deadpool series, but it will be an altogether unique experience. According to director Shawn Levy earlier this year, this is not Deadpool 3; instead, the MCU movie is a classic “two-hander character adventure.”
Neither Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson/Deadpool) nor Hugh Jackman (Logan/Wolverine) have appeared in Kevin Feige’s mega-franchise, but on July 26, their debuts will come.
The journey to this third Deadpool feature film has been a long, turbulent one. It originally started life under 20th Century Fox but once The Walt Disney Company acquired the studio with its 21st Century Fox buyout, Deadpool 3 became many different things entirely.
With Disney’s ownership of Fox, the House Mouse suddenly had characters from the X-Men franchise available to use, which meant the Merc with a Mouth would also be making an appearance. One thing that fans appreciated about Fox’s Deadpool movies was their R-rated nature, which gave audiences an entirely different experience compared to Feige’s historically PG-13 efforts.
That said, when Deadpool & Wolverine officially enters the canonical MCU timeline this summer, it will do so as the franchise’s first-ever R-rated movie. And so far, that doesn’t seem to be a turn-off for audiences. In fact, quite the opposite. Forbes recently reported that Deadpool & Wolverine scored the highest ticket pre-sales for an R-rated movie in history.
As marketing content for Shawn Levy’s movie ramps up (including Reynolds’ own promotion for that popcorn bucket), it seems that Deadpool & Wolverine is gaining traction in the same way Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) did almost three years ago.
The third Spidey movie’s Multiverse elements —and all the cameo opportunities that come with such a plot device—are also pushing Deadpool & Wolverine into mandatory viewing. It’s no secret the MCU has struggled to maintain its reliability and reputation over the last four years, but the Reynolds and Jackman-led vehicle may just be the spark Feige needs.
In recent months, Disney has been vocal about the need to change the MCU. No longer will an unlimited amount of projects hit movie theaters and Disney+, but a maximum of three movies and two TV shows will be released annually. In addition, Marvel’s “new system” sees more projects developed than produced.
From the confirmed appearances of Jennifer Garner’s Elektra Natchios and Aaron Stanford’s Pyro to other X-Men characters like Azazel and Lady Deathstrike appearing in a seemingly cameo capacity, Deadpool & Wolverine‘s cast is set to be stacked.
However, according to a new report, two rumored characters will not appear in the upcoming MCU movie after all.
According to entertainment scooper Alex Perez of the Cosmic Circus, Ian McKellan’s Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto and Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch will not appear in Deadpool & Wolverine, despite earlier claims that the characters would be involved in the new adventure.
Per Comic Book Movie, early rumors suggested that Deadpool & Wolverine may have played around with the aftermath of Olsen’s Scarlet Witch decimating the Illuminati on Earth-838.
The powerful sorceress destroyed the Illuminati–including Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Captain Marvel (Lashana Lynch)–while hunting down Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) in Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).
This early report claimed that McKellan’s Magneto was going to wage war on Earth-616 after Scarlet Witch’s attack left the universe in a “dystopian future.” Now, that seems not to be the case.
“No, they are not in the movie, as far as I know,” Alex Perez explained. “What I knew very early on were ideas that were being heavily discussed and concepts that they were interested in exploring. Unfortunately, most of these concepts don’t pan out, and you’ll have to wait for the movie to see what I’m referring to.”
The potential additions of Magneto and the Scarlet Witch are just two of many rumored cameos that have surfaced ever since Deadpool & Wolverine was confirmed to tackle the Multiverse. Notably, the inclusion of music icon Taylor Swift has floated frequently, thanks to her friendship with Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.
Related: Hugh Jackman Speaks Out on Leaving Marvel Behind After Disney Scrapped ‘Deadpool 3’
Marvel or Levy have neither confirmed nor denied Swift’s involvement, but the rumor mill continues to swirl. Many have theorized that Swift, who is currently on the European leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour, could play Dazzler (a music star in the Marvel Universe) or even Deadpool Variant, Lady Deadpool.
Lady Deadpool has seemingly been confirmed as appearing via the latest teaser trailer. Blake Lively remains top of the list of potential faces behind the character, but there is also the chance this could just be Ryan Reynolds.
If Lively or Swift do appear in the film, they will join Deadpool series stars Leslie Uggams (Blind Al), Morena Baccarin (Vanessa), Rob Delaney (Peter), Karan Soni (Dopinder), Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic Teenage Warhead), Shioli Kutsuna (Yukio), Stefan Kapičić (Colossus), and Lewis Tan (Shatterstar).
Newcomers to the MCU include Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Paradox, an agent of the Time Variance Authority (TVA).
Related: ‘Deadpool’ To Be Reshot After Details of “Mind-Blowing” Post-Credits Scene Emerge: Report
Following Tim Miller and David Leitch’s entries, will Shawn Levy’s effort hold to form? And will the MCU’s first R-rated movie sink or float?
Will you be heading to the movie theaters to see Deadpool & Wolverine? Who do you hope to see in the film? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!