(Updated 04/22/2024)
Deadpool and Wolverine first met in the movie X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, back in 2009. Now they're set for a rematch and team-up in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, formerly called DEADPOOL 3.
It's the first DEADPOOL movie to be produced and released directly by Marvel Studios, finally bringing the character into the MCU proper. It will also be Marvel's first R-rated movie, with one cast member saying the movie is likely to earn a "hard R" rating. With the number of F-bombs in the new trailer, that is all but assured.
And, yes, the movie will feature Hugh Jackman, returning to the role of Wolverine. That leads to a lot of questions, and the new trailer for the movie raises even more. Here's that trailer and everything we know about DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE.
When Is the Deadpool & Wolverine Release Date?
Marvel Studios will release DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE exclusively in movie theaters on July 26, 2024.
Deadpool 3 Is Marvel's Only 2024 Movie
After the writer and actors strikes ended, Marvel did some schedule changes that shuffled most of the studio's slate back a few months. DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE moved as well, but one thing is interesting: DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE is now Marvel's only movie set for 2024. That's the first time the studio has only had one movie in a calendar year since 2012. (Setting aside the anomaly of 2020, when no one had many movies in theaters.)
Watch the New Deadpool & Wolverine Trailer
Note that the trailer above is not safe for work due to language. If there was any doubt that Marvel and Disney would follow through with a fully R-rated DEADPOOL sequel, this trailer erases it.
The first DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE trailer set up a questionably happy life for Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool. He's pulled into the MCU and thrown into battle — against a broken old 20th Century Fox logo, no less — with several different forces. And, seemingly, Wolverine.
The new trailer, which you can see above, seems like it shows a lot, but probably pulls mostly from the movie's first act. Deadpool skips over to an unnamed layer of the Marvel universe, where he finds a self-hating Wolverine who seemingly failed to save the world. So this isn't the Wolverine we've seen in movies before — but maybe that version will show up, too?
Who's the Bald Lady in the new Deadpool & Wolverine Trailer?
That's Emma Corrin of "The Crown" as Cassandra Nova, aka this movie's big villain. If you think she maybe looks more than a bit like X-Men founder Charles Xavier, well, that's no accident. In comics, the Cassandra Nova is Xavier's twin sister… kind of
Cassandra Nova was created by Grant Morrisson and Frank Quitely for their "New X-Men" Series in 2001. She isn't really a person, but a disembodied force of darkness that copied Xavier's DNA to create her own body while Xavier was still in utero. She's basically Xavier's shadow opposite, and is totally committed to destroying him.
In comics, Cassandra Nova's biggest act of evil is the genocide of millions of mutants on the island Genosha. That event is reflected in the excellent current animated series, "X-Men '97," leading to questions about whether or not DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE might have any tie to the animated series.
Wolverine Is Alive? Didn't He Die in Logan?
Yes, Logan died in LOGAN, released in 2017. That movie was set in 2029, which means there is room for whatever story takes place in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE. (Remember, too, that in LOGAN no mutants had been born for 25 years, which raises other questions when this new movie is factored in.)
So at least some form of Wolverine is alive, but maybe "how is Wolverine alive?" isn't the correct question to be asking.
Where in the Multiverse Does Deadpool 3 Take Place?
Marvel is in the middle of the Multiverse Saga right now. What does that mean for DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE? Hard to say right now! But this movie is clearly not entirely set on the same Earth that is home to the core MCU characters. It may not be set on that Earth at all!
Furthermore, Wolverine and Deadpool are not be from the same part of the multiverse. The end credits scene of DEADPOOL 2 features the title character using a time travel device to kill the version of Deadpool that ran around in X-MEN ORIGINS, but that seems more like a joke than an attempt to truly set up a line of continuity. Or does it?
How Many Versions of Deadpool and Wolverine Are in Deadpool 3?
This is another big question! Since there is a multiverse component to the DEADPOOL 3 story, chances are very good that we'll see more than one version of each main character.
One specific casting choice supports this idea, too.
Owen Wilson Reprises His Time Agent Role in Deadpool 3
In the series "Loki," Owen Wilson plays TVA agent Mobius M. Mobius. The TVA is the "time variance authority," which regulates the Multiverse and can prune away timelines and/or "variants" of a given individual if they pose a danger to the rest of existence.
In short, if Mobius is active in the story, that suggests that there are multiple variants of Deadpool and/or Wolverine running around.
The (Rest of the) Cast of Deadpool 3
We've covered the two most important stars of the movie: Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. But they're not alone! Karan Soni, who played the cab driver Dopinder in the first two Deadpool movies, returns. Also returning from previous movies are Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Stefan Kapičić as Colossus, Shioli Kutsuna as Yukio and Rob Delaney as Peter.
And yes, that's Peter, the non-superheroic X-Force recruit who died an ignominious death in DEADPOOL 2. Vanessa also died in that movie. But the post-credits scene in DEADPOOL 2, in addition to showing a little Deadpool v Deadpool action, revealed that Wade was able to use Cable's repaired time machine to change history. Did he create variant characters in the process, and thus attract the attention of the TVA?
Then there are some interesting cast members. Jennifer Garner will reprise the role of Elektra, from the 2003 movie DAREDEVIL and the 2005 spin-off ELEKTRA. Does that mean that Ben Affleck, who played Daredevil in that movie, and/or Colin Farrell, who played the villain Bullseye, will appear as well? There are suppositions that we might see Patrick Stewart as Professor X and perhaps even Channing Tatum as Gambit. Tatum was developing a Gambit movie many years ago which was never made, so his appearance would be a kind of holy grail in-joke.
Finally, we know that Emma Corrin ("The Crown") plays the villain, and Matthew Macfadyen has a role as a TVA officer.
Who Is Making Deadpool 3?
DEADPOOL 3 is directed by Shawn Levy, who also directed Ryan Reynolds in FREE GUY and THE ADAM PROJECT. And Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the writers of the first two Deadpool movies, are back on board penning the third.
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE opens on July 26.
All images courtesy of 20th Century Studios and Marvel Studios.