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Credit: Inside the MagicThe Marvel Cinematic Universe is set for a significant shift with the worldwide release of Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Helmed by director Shawn Levy and written by a team including Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, Ryan Reynolds, and Levy himself, the film brings back Ryan Reynolds as the wise-cracking Wade Wilson/Deadpool and Hugh Jackman as the rugged and tormented Logan/Wolverine.
Marking the MCU’s first venture into R-rated territory, the film follows the success of 20th Century Fox’s (now 20th Century Studios) Deadpool (2016) and Deadpool 2 (2018), from directors Tim Miller and David Leitch, respectively.
So far, the movie’s R-rated nature seems to be a big win, with record-breaking ticket pre-sales reported and a projection of a staggering $300 million+ global opening weekend debut—the biggest of the year, surpassing Dune: Part Two (2024) and Inside Out 2 (2024).
Rumors about the plot have been swirling, with speculation about a Multiversal device called “The Anchor.” Teaser footage suggests that this device could lead to catastrophic consequences, with entire worlds at risk if a Variant is killed in the “Battleworld” arena. As Wade said at the end of Deadpool 2–he seems to be “cleaning up the timeline.”
The first teaser, aired during Super Bowl LVIII, features Deadpool hinting at major changes to the MCU. With the Time Variance Authority and the mysterious Mr. Paradox (played by Matthew Macfadyen) involved, the stability of the Sacred Timeline is at stake.
While Deadpool & Wolverine isn’t marketed as “Deadpool 3,” it acts as a continuation of the Fox movies, offering a dynamic partnership between the two iconic characters. True to the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, fans can expect plenty of twists and surprises.
Deadpool & Wolverine is set to be a star-studded extravaganza featuring a blend of cameos from both the MCU and Fox’s legacy Marvel films.
Among the notable appearances is Jennifer Garner, reprising her role as Elektra Natchios from Daredevil (2003) and Elektra (2005). The X-Men lineup will see familiar faces, with Tyler Mane returning as Sabretooth and Aaron Stanford as Pyro from X-Men (2000) and X2/X-Men 2/X-Men 2: X-Men United (2003), respectively.
Fans can also look forward to characters from Tim Miller and David Leitch’s Deadpool films, including Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Rob Delaney as Peter, Karan Soni as Dopinder, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Shioli Kutsuna as Yukio, Stefan Kapičić as Colossus, and Lewis Tan as Shatterstar.
Newcomer Emma Corrin joins the ensemble as the villain Cassandra Nova, seemingly based on the Marvel Comics character equipped with telekinetic and telepathic powers and the twin sister of Professor Charles Xavier/Professor X.
Patrick Stewart’s Charles was significantly featured in the climatic final Wolverine trilogy movie, Logan (2017), where X-24 eventually killed the character. He later appeared in cameo form in Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) as part of Earth-838’s Illuminati.
However, it almost wasn’t Cassandra Nova as the villain in Deadpool & Wolverine. According to filmmaker Shawn Levy, Mephisto was being lined up to be the MCU movie’s “Big Bad,” but the connection of Logan to the Charles Xavier mythos was too significant to bypass.
“We went through a lot of ‘almost’ versions of this story before we landed,” said the director during the interview with Collider. “Frankly, it was the infamous call from Hugh, but then it was this idea of Cassandra Nova as a sibling to Charles because Cassandra’s link to Professor X creates an interesting dynamic and fascination in Cassandra about you [to Jackman].”
With Deadpool & Wolverine ready to be unleashed, eyes are certainly looking at the future, including just when the hyped movie will hit The Walt Disney Company’s streaming service, Disney+.
It is unlikely, judging by how well the film is likely to do at the movie theaters, that Deadpool & Wolverine will be hitting the streamer any time soon. When looking at the past few MCU movies, the time between theatrical release and small-screen debut has significantly varied.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrived on Disney+ 47 days after its cinema release. The subsequent movies, Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), lasted longer exclusively in theaters and hit Disney+ 62 and 82 days later, respectively.
As for the more recent Phase Five movies, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) landed on Disney+ 89 days after its dismal box office run, while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) arrived 90 days later, and The Marvels joined the streaming catalog after 89 days, like Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man threequel.
All signs then point to Deadpool & Wolverine not airing on Disney+ until at least 90 days from its July 25 release date. If James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3–the most successful MCU release since Doctor Strange 2–took 90 days, then the third Deadpool movie will most definitely take as long, if not longer, to arrive on streaming.
If 90 days is the threshold, then audiences can expect Deadpool & Wolverine in late October on approximately October 23, 2024. Of course, Disney and Marvel may want to keep fans waiting longer and give the movie as much breathing room in theaters as possible.
Positive early reviews saw the movie debut on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes at an impressive 81% at the time of publication.
There is no hard and fast rule anymore, meaning it is possible for the movie to come out later than October, although chances are it will drop before Christmas break at the end of the year to capitalize on fans being home for the holidays.
The most recent and final trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine gave the first full look at Lady Deadpool- or is it now Ladypool?-and confirmed that Dafne Keen’s Laura Kinney, AKA X-23 (Logan’s biological daughter), will also appear in Shawn Levy’s movie.
Related: Marvel Cancels Critically Acclaimed ‘What If…’ Series, Show Will Conclude With Season 3
Deadpool & Wolverine arrives in movie theaters on July 25, 2024.
Have you got your tickets for Deadpool & Wolverine? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!