Credit: Marvel StudiosThe scene in which Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) jump through one of Doctor Strange’s swirling, sparkling interdimensional portals is already embedded within our collective consciousness and it’s probably the most iconic shot in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), which was only released just under two weeks ago.
That’s not the most impressive thing, though — it has already grossed shy of $1B ($852.1M over its $200M budget). Directed by Shawn Levy, the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe offering makes better use of the Multiverse than Spider-Man No Way Home (2021), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), and The Marvels (2023) did.
But going back to that scene in which the titular X-Men jump through that portal — where are they going? Well, you’ll have to watch the film to find out, but figuratively speaking, we suspect they were exiting the MCU, rather than entering it.
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Deadpool & Wolverine Spoilers
Deadpool & Wolverine is bursting at the seams with cameos, which include Jennifer Garner’s Elektra Natchios from Daredevil (2003) and Elektra (2005), Wesley Snipes’ Blade from Blade (1998), Blade II (2002), and Blade: Trinity (2004), Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm from Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), Tyler Mane‘s Sabretooth from X-Men (2000), Toad (Ray Park) from X-Men, Aaron Stanford’s Pyro from the first three X-Men movies, and Dafne Keen’s Laura/X-23 from Logan (2017).
But while the film bids farewell to these characters and their respective film franchises from the pre-Disney 20th Century Fox Studios era, Deadpool and Wolverine’s future is less certain. Will they show up in any of the upcoming MCU movies, such as Captain America: Brave New World (2025), Thunderbolts (2025), The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), Blade (2025), Avengers: Doomsday (2026), and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027)?
Well, those of us hoping Deadpool really is “Marvel Jesus”, as he proclaims in the film, might be heartbroken with the latest update from the “Merc With a Mouth” himself.
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Deadpool’s Future in the MCU
In a recent spoiler-filled interview with Collider, Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy talked about what the future might hold for the titular Marvel heroes. But while Deadpool & Wolverine is obliterating the global box office, the future of these characters is uncertain.
“I would say that Shawn and I have been pretty clear, I think, in the most loving way, because talk about the greatest uptown problem any human beings could have is a studio like that saying, ‘What’s next?’ Or ‘How can we make something else?’ But this movie was made as a complete experience.” Reynolds said.
He added, “It wasn’t meant to be a commercial for another movie. It wasn’t meant to be any of that stuff. And, I think I get a great deal of joy making a movie like that. But honestly, right in this moment, I have no idea if I’ll ever wear that Deadpool suit again — I hope I do — but I don’t know. Right now’s the time to just kind of hang it up for a bit and see what happens next.”
His comments about Deadpool & Wolverine not being “a commercial for another movie” is music to the ears. Many, if not the vast majority of MCU movies, good or bad, have felt like teasers for future projects — especially those dripping with mid and post-credits scenes.
Deadpool & Wolverine, on the other hand, does indeed feel like an entirely contained movie that offers no promises beyond its credits-roll. In fact, surprisingly, there’s only one post-credits scene, whose sole purpose is to make an earlier joke in the film funnier. That’s it.
In a previous interview with Associated Press, Levy said, “I am definitely not looking to do homework when I go to the movies,” explaining that fans needn’t scour through all the very many previous MCU installments shows in preparation for the Deadpool threequel, which is often a requirement for whenever a new movie or Disney+ television show comes out.
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In the interview with Collider, the director revealed that there was no pushback from Disney or Marvel regarding the R-rated nature of the latest film — a first for the MCU — or any of the risky jokes for that matter, including those aimed directly towards Disney and Marvel.
“A lot of people have asked me, ‘Were you pressured to service the next movie or set up something in Avengers ?'” Levy said. “Really, to their credit, neither Disney or Marvel ever asked us to serve anything beyond one really satisfying self-contained story. And we made exactly that with their support. So, as far as the future, time will tell.”
Of course, it’s possible Disney and Marvel were so lenient because a) this was a pretty high-stakes movie for the MCU considering its sharp nosedive in recent years and b) perhaps this is a one-and-done. In other words, maybe Deadpool is hanging up the suit, after all.
On the one hand, it would make sense. Deadpool & Wolverine feels more like the end of the Fox era than the beginning of a new one for the MCU, so it’s fitting that it would serve as a respectful shutting of the door to an entire saga of superhero movies that never really got any proper closure.
But should Deadpool (and Wolverine) be on the other side of that door with all the other X-Men and Elektra and Blade and so on, the film would feel like an empty promise.
While the box office-smashing threequel doesn’t even remotely hint towards the future of this massive and still-troubled franchise, the film in itself does feel like a renaissance of sorts, almost like Marvel is hitting the giant “reset” button and starting anew.
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Fans Want More Deadpool and Wolverine
Putting all the numbers aside, though, fans simply want to see more Deadpool and Wolverine in future ventures. Not only has Ryan Reynold’s Wade Wilson/Deadpool now proven himself across three hugely successful films that have also pleased fans and critics, Hugh Jackman‘s Logan/Wolverine has been a long-standing fan-favorite for 20 years.
The pair even recently made their Disney Parks debut at Avengers Campus in Disney’s California Adventure, Disneyland. At first glance, this might have seemed like Disney and Marvel were rolling out a long red carpet for the two, welcoming long-term additions to the MCU, but it’s probably exclusively promotional and nothing more.
Replacing Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman With “Multiverse Variants”
Deadpool has been a huge hit at the parks, though, which perhaps proves that we don’t need Ryan Reynolds behind the mask after all (blasphemy, we know — he really is our superhero “Messiah”). As for Wolverine, rumors Hugh Jackman is being replaced also persist, although we can’t imagine anyone slipping into that shredded-bod-hugging yellow suit and those adamantium claws. Daniel Radcliffe, really? Oh, please.
Jackman has played Logan/Wolverine for 20 years. In fact, he breaks the world record for playing a superhero character for so long and one with so many appearances under his belt (10, to be specific). In that same time, we’ve seen several actors portray other iconic superheroes such as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Will fans respond well to Deadpool and Wolverine being recast? We think not. You can milk the Multiverse for all its variants to try and justify future recastings within the narrative all you like, Marvel — but replacing Reynolds and Jackman is simply impossible.
Besides, who else is there to save the MCU besides Deadpool and Wolverine? If grossing just shy of $1B worldwide in less than two weeks won’t save it, we don’t know what will.
Deadpool & Wolverine stars Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson/Deadpool), Hugh Jackman (Logan/Wolverine), Emma Corrin (Cassandra Nova), Matthew Macfadyen (Mr Paradox), Morena Baccarin (Vanessa Carlysle), Rob Delaney (Peter Wisdom), Leslie Uggams (Blind Al), Karan Soni (Dopinder), Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic Teenage Warhead), Shioli Kutsuna (Yukio), and Stefan Kapičić (Colossus).
The film is out in theaters worldwide now.
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