Massive Spoilers Ahead for Deadpool & WolverineDeadpool & Wolverineis a unique film in Marvel’s massive media empire. It represents the invasion of a new universe of characters and concepts. It’s the first R-rated entry in the franchise, and its tone feels radically removed from the MCU. It brings many old characters back from familiar films. Despite the film feeling like a new horizon for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it isn’t likely to be a notable step forward. This feels more like a temporary change than a new chapter for this massive media empire.
Deadpool & Wolverinehas already made a ton of money, and it’s likely to continue its march towards the top box-office spot. Any success of that size will put a thumb on the scale for the next phases of the franchise.Deadpool & Wolverinewould be a fairly difficult film to learn directly from. Maybe Marvel will have the guts to greenlight a few more R-rated projects in the next few years. Maybe they’re more willing to play with their older characters. More likely, they’ll fall back on more callbacks and references.
Shawn Levy
Writers
Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, and Shawn Levy
Release Date
May 31, 2025
Deadpool is very excited about joiningthe Marvel Cinematic Universe. Anyone who has seen the trailers sees him proclaiming himself Marvel Jesus. That bit is a setup for the closest thing to a thematic underline that carries throughout the film. In short, Deadpool wants to stand for something bigger than himself. His motivation calls him to save the world, partially because his girlfriend will leave him if he doesn’t. He tries out for the Avengers, but Happy Hogan turns him away. Sure enough, the TVA offers him a chance to leave his universe behind and join the mainline MCU. He leaps at the opportunity until he realizes that his home dimension will be eradicated. Without Wolverine, the universe could no longer stand.Wade stands as the defenderof the reality that includes the 20th Century FoxX-Menfranchise. It isn’t a subtle metaphor.
Deadpool & Wolverineis about Deadpool saving the franchise he came from. He finds himself in the Void, the purgatory-like end of time that holds everything that couldn’t fit inthe “Sacred Timeline.“It now primarily contains other film franchises that ended before or during the MCU’s iron-fisted grasp of the superhero genre. They’ve got Wesley Snipes' Blade, the X-Men, Elektra, and many other familiar characters from 20 years ago. The TVA maintains the Marvel Cinematic Universe by killing off every other superhero franchise. Deadpool stands against his dreamof joining the Avengersby fighting to maintain his original home.Deadpool & Wolverineisn’t about the MCU; it’s about the 20th Century FoxX-Menuniverse.
Deadpool & Wolverine’s jokes won’t become lessons
WhileDeadpool & Wolverineis mostly about sustaining theX-Menuniverse, it has a lot to say about the MCU. Wade takes several moments to make fun of the modern state of Marvel’s film slate. The most notable example comes when he faces the Deadpool Corps in combat. He launches into an extended monologue in which he suggests that the multiverse is a failed concept. He doesn’t really dig into the reasons it doesn’t work, many of which fill the runtime of this film, but his voice echoes many complaints. The Marvel Cinematic Universe could take Deadpool’s criticisms to heart, but future films will not view those gags as lessons. As is often the case with Deadpool, he’s just one of many tendrils of the multi-billion-dollar shoggoth turning to wink at the audience because they’ve calculated its cost-effectiveness. He’s part of the problem, gaining a bit of sympathy from the fans by pretending to be in on the gag while consistently making things worse.
Deadpool & Wolverineonly has one notable new detail
The only narrative detailofDeadpool & Wolverinethat’s likely to become important to the larger MCU is the “anchor being” idea. It is, at least in part, a commentary on Logan’s central position in the franchise. They’re suggesting that the Fox movies couldn’t continue to exist without Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. This concept will likely continue to appear in future MCU projects. The upcoming return of Robert Downey Jr. might bring this anchor being idea back into the conversation. It’s a fundamental partof the multiverse mythos, and it hasn’t affected the MCU yet. It may be the only detail that comes up again.
Deadpool & Wolverineis the furthest imaginable thing from a self-contained story, but it still isn’t very closely tied to the MCU. While it struggles to find anything to say about any universe, it will likely have no impact onthe Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Sacred Timeline will remain stable, regardless of Deadpool’s involvement. Maybe some X-Men characters will come back for cheap cameos, but the plot ofDeadpool & Wolverinewill probably fit comfortably within its runtime.
