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Here’s the thing about Deadpool: he knows that he’s in a movie. So he’s probably aware that his long-awaited first MCU entry Deadpool & Wolverine has finally been screened to critics and that those critics are sharing their thoughts about the movie on social media. But is he reading the tweets and jumping in joy or blowing himself up a la Deadpool 2? The studio betting big on the character’s latest theatrical outing is definitely hoping it’s the former.
After the relative box office and critical failures of Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels, Deadpool & Wolverine is the sole Marvel movie making it to theaters this year (unless we count Sony trash such as Madame Web). Marvel hopes that star Ryan Reynolds and his Deadpool will help turn the tide of superhero fatigue and make the MCU the sensation that it once was. Of course, Deadpool knows all about being tapped in to save the MCU, which is why he calls himself “Marvel Jesus” in the trailers.
The Merc With a Mouth won’t be saving the MCU all alone. He’s bringing with him Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, whose debut in 2000’s X-Men helped kick off the second wave of superhero movies. Even if he isn’t the most comics accurate version of the character, Jackman’s Wolverine helped broaden Logan’s appeal to wider audiences, building to his soulful swan song Logan in 2017.
Directed by Shawn Levy, Deadpool & Wolverine finds the Time Variance Authority from Loki recruiting Wade to help them save his universe. Unable to do the job by himself, Deadpool gets some help from a version of Wolverine who failed his own universe. The adventure sends the duo into the Void, the space between realities (also seen in Loki).
While dodging the reality-consuming Alioth in the Void, Wade and Logan encounter a host of villains, led by Professor X’s evil twin sister Cassandra Nova, played by Emma Corrin. Along with Nova are some familiar faces, including Pyro (Aaron Stanford), Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu), Sabertooth (Tyler Mane), and Toad (Ray Park) from the 2000s X-Men movies. Other non-MCU characters are also rumored to appear in the movie, including Jennifer Garner as Elektra and Billy Clements (stepping in for Kevin Nash) as the Russian from The Punisher.
We haven’t even mentioned all of the Deadpool variants in this movie. Since Marvel is all about the multiverse these days, we’re of course going to get to see other versions of the Merc With a Mouth, including Dogpool and Lady Deadpool. There are also some characters from Wolverine’s own movie past, including the return of Dafne Keen as X-23!
That’s a lot of characters and plotting, even for an MCU film, which only exacerbates the impossible expectations placed on it. The first two Deadpool movies functioned mostly as raunchy comedies set in their own corner of the Fox X-Men universe. Does Deadpool & Wolverine live up to such high expectations? Or did this unlikely team-up fail to do the impossible? Let’s see what the critics say.
Deadpool & Wolverine comes to theaters on July 26.
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