BY EMMITT MURPHY

On Sep. 12, Ryan Reynolds announced the third installment of the Deadpool franchise, which will also be the character’s first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). To everyone’s surprise, it was also announced that Hugh Jackman will reprise his role as Wolverine from the X-Men franchise, starting the introduction of the team into the MCU. 

Deadpool’s involvement in the MCU has been a very open secret for a while now, as it was expected that Deadpool would cross over after Disney had purchased 21st Century Fox. Wolverine’s, or at least Hugh Jackman’s, return is very unexpected, as Logan (2017) was thought to be the end of the character’s cinematic story and Jackman’s portrayal of him.

The first and currently only official promotional photo for the film, showing Deadpool’s logo slashed by Wolverine’s claws (From IMDb)

The film’s story is still unknown, but other information has been revealed by Reynolds himself. The first piece of info is in regards to the events of Logan and how Wolverine is still alive, stating that “Logan takes place in 2029” and that it is a “totally separate thing” from the current film.  Reynolds has also claimed that the movie was always going to involve Wolverine and was originally going to be a road trip movie before Disney acquired Fox.

One of the most anticipated aspects of these characters’ involvement in the MCU is the potential stories with other prominent characters. With Deadpool now involved, there is potential for his relationship with Spider-Man to be adapted on-screen. In the comics, Deadpool and Spidey have a sort of love-hate relationship, where Deadpool idealizes Peter as the perfect superhero while Parker wants nothing to do with him.

With Wolverine, it could be expected that he eventually battles with the Hulk as he made his first ever appearance in issue #181 of The Incredible Hulk where Wolverine clashed with the titular character. Another popular idea is that Logan doesn’t become the MCU’s main Wolverine but is instead a mentor to Laura Kinny, a clone of Logan and the second Wolverine.

Easily the most important aspect of this movie is the potential lead up to the X-Men. Marvel has slowly been introducing mutants into the MCU, with Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Kamala Khan in Ms. Marvel, who was retconned into a mutant during the show. With Deadpool 3, the first official X-Men will be introduced into the MCU with Wolverine and would start the implementation of the X-Men into the MCU. 

As of now, the only official information about the film is Reynolds and Jackman’s involvement and it’s release date, which is set for Nov. 8, 2024. However, if Deadpool 3 should be as good, if not better, than the previous installments in the Deadpool franchise and will only be amplified with it’s involvement in the MCU.