Deadpool & Wolverine, the third standalone flick starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth, is fast approaching and Marvel fans are stoked to see the R-rated antihero make his official MCU debut.
So far, there's been a couple of trailers, some interesting cast announcements, some intriguing set leaks – and the Marvel Phase 5 movie looks like it might be the most meta-take yet. There's also been some hints at Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, and given the evens of Spider-Man: No Way Home, a Tobey Maguire cameo isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility.
Below, we try to make sense of everything we know about Deadpool 3 as we pull together quotes from its stars and director Shawn Levy. We also dive into some pretty plausible-sounding fan theories ahead of its July release. Scroll on for everything you need to know about Deadpool & Wolverine.
Deadpool 3 release date
Deadpool 3 arrives in UK cinemas on July 25, 2024, before hopping over the pond to US theaters on July 26, 2024.
This is a slight delay from its original release date of May 2024, caused by delays from SAG-AFTRA strikes and WGA strikes last summer. However, it still remains the only MCU cinema release in 2024, which is quite a big change for boss Kevin Feige.
Deadpool 3 plot
Marvel hasn't released an official Deadpool 3 plot yet, but we do have some idea what happens in the threequel. Most of this comes from the movie's first trailer, which was released during the 2024 Super Bowl. This showed Wade Wilson reuniting with his friends to celebrate his birthday before being pulled through a time door by the Time Variance Authority. He's met there by Matthew Macfadyen's Paradox, who has a secretive mission for him, giving him a chance to be "a hero among heroes".
In a second trailer, which was shown behind closed doors at CinemaCon 2024, Paradox reportedly asked Deadpool to "save the Sacred Timeline", which has got Loki fans in a spin. In the Disney Plus TV series, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) obliterated the Sacred Timeline when she killed He Who Remains at the Citadel, and the God of Mischief and co spent most of season 2 trying to stop its broken branches from destroying everything. If Deadpool meddles with those events, will it wipe both seasons of Loki from the canon?
We don't have a clue yet what it all means, but given this is Deadpool's introduction to the MCU, we're expecting some multiversal and crossover fun, especially given the second half of the movie's title. Yes, Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is back following his supposed death in Logan, and this time he's got a very intriguing yellow suit on. We barely see him in the only trailer that's been revealed online so far, but the razor-knuckled mutant will play a big role in the film, according to director Shawn Levy.
"It's the third Deadpool movie, but it's not Deadpool 3," the filmmaker told Screen Rant recently. "It's a different thing that's very much Deadpool & Wolverine. And it's not trying to copycat anything from the first two movies. They were awesome, but this is a two-hander character adventure."
Some fans think that X-Men '97's Fall of Genosha arc is a clue into what Logan is going through in the new movie. In the trailer, Wade asks Logan, "Is that what you said when your world went to shit?" Wolverine's world most likely refers to Genosha, a country where mutants can live peacefully. The Fall of Genosha, a comic book-accurate storyline, sees the country destroyed by a terrorist attack.
Deadpool 3 cast
There are a lot of rumors floating around the Deadpool 3 cast, with just about everyone from X-Men mutants to Taylor Swift linked to the project. But there have been some official cast announcements made either from Marvel or the trailer. These are as follows:
- Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool
- Hugh Jackman – Wolverine
- Matthew Macfadyen – Paradox
- Emma Corrin
- Stefan Kapičić – Colossus
- Brianna Hildebrand – Negasonic Teenage Warhead
- Shioli Kutsuna – Yukio
- Lewis Tan – Shatterstar
- Rob Delaney – Peter
- Morena Baccarin – Vanessa
- Leslie Uggams – Blind Al
- Karan Soni – Dopinder
- Aaron Stanford – Pyro
While it's not been outright said by anyone involved in Deadpool 3 yet, it seems highly likely that Corrin will play Cassandra Nova, Professor X's evil twin sister, in the movie. A bald-headed figure was seen from behind in the first trailer, and a copyright document later confirmed it was Nova – while mentioning Corrin's name alongside it. Elsewhere, The Crown star confirmed they were playing the threequel's villain, so all signs point to the theory being correct.
Now to get into some of those not-so-concrete rumors... Some of the reported additions to the cast (and take these with a healthy pinch of salt) include Jennifer Garner as Elektra, reprising her role after 20 years, James Marsden as Cyclops, and Tyler Mane as Sabretooth.
Ryan Reynolds has also confirmed that his Wrexham co-chair Rob McElhenney will be making a cameo in an undisclosed role (though it'd be pretty cool if Mac from It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia existed in the MCU).
But as is usually the case with MCU movies, just about everyone has been linked to this film, meaning we'll just have to wait and see who actually appears come July.
Deadpool 3 trailer
The first Deadpool 3 trailer was released during the 2024 Super Bowl, and it gave us our first R-rated look at Wade Wilson's return. Full of revelations about the TVA, brutal and bloody fight sequences, and jokes about pegging, it looks incredible. Watch it above.
Not only did it reveal some teases about what the next movie in the Multiverse Saga will entail, but it was also stacked full of hidden nods to the wider MCU. Check out our Deadpool 3 trailer Easter eggs round-up for all of the ones we spotted, from a shout-out to Avengers: Secret Wars to what all those Loki links could mean.
A second trailer was shown exclusively to guests at CinemaCon 2024, before hitting the internet in April. There's plenty of gore and violence, limp dick jokes, and our first look at a bald character played by Emma Corrin – who has long been rumored to play Cassandra Nova. There's also a very cool nod to Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in the trailer, with one brief scene showing Deadpool and Wolverine facing off with the same fight choreography that Peter Parker and Flash Thompson used in their famous high school hallway fight.
A bit of new footage was also released in May, which features a hidden easter egg in the form of a QR code.
For more, check out our guide to all of the new Marvel movies and shows on the way as well as how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
