Deadpool & Wolverine is a 2024 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Deadpool and Wolverine. Produced by Marvel Studios, Maximum Effort, and 21 Laps Entertainment, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 34th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the sequel to Deadpool (2016) and Deadpool 2 (2018). The film was directed by Shawn Levy from a screenplay he wrote with Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells. Reynolds and Hugh Jackman respectively star as Wade Wilson / Deadpool and Logan / Wolverine, alongside Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Aaron Stanford, and Matthew Macfadyen. In the film, Deadpool learns that the Time Variance Authority is set to destroy his universe and works with a reluctant Wolverine from another universe to stop them.
Development on a third Deadpool film began at 20th Century Fox by November 2016, but was placed on hold after the studio was acquired by Disney in March 2019. Control of the character and Fox's X-Men film series was transferred to Marvel Studios, which began developing a new film with Reynolds. It integrates Deadpool with the MCU and retains the R rating of the previous Deadpool films, a first for the MCU. Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin joined in November 2020 as writers. Reese and Wernick returned from the previous films for rewrites by March 2022, when Levy was hired as director. They, along with Reynolds and Wells, had difficulty figuring out the film's story until Jackman decided to reprise his role as Wolverine from the X-Men films in August 2022. Several other actors from the X-Men films and other Marvel productions also returned as part of the film's multiverse story, which serves as a farewell to Fox's Marvel films. Filming began in May 2023 at Pinewood Studios in England, with additional filming in Norfolk, Los Angeles, and at Bovingdon Film Studios. Production was suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, but resumed in November and wrapped in January 2024. The title was revealed a month later.
Deadpool & Wolverine premiered on July 22, 2024, at the David H. Koch Theater in New York City, and was released in the United States on July 26 as part of Phase Five of the MCU. It has grossed $940.3 million worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 2024.
Plot[]
In 2018, after Wade Wilson uses Cable’s time-travel device to bring his girlfriend Vanessa Carlysle back to life, he travels from his universe, Earth-10005, to Earth-616/the “Sacred Timeline” hoping to join the Avengers and give his life added meaning. He is rejected by Happy Hogan and returns to his own universe. Six years later, Wade has broken up with Vanessa and retired from being the masked mercenary Deadpool. He works as a used-car salesman with his friend Peter Wisdom.
During Wade’s birthday party, the Time Variance Authority (TVA) captures him and brings him to Mr. Paradox. Paradox reveals that Wade’s timeline is deteriorating as a result of the death of its stabilizing “anchor being”, Logan. Paradox plans to use a device called a “Time Ripper” to speed up this process rather than spend thousands of years waiting for the timeline to die naturally. He offers to spare Wade by sending him to the Sacred Timeline where he is expected to play an important rule in future events. Wade steals Paradox’s TemPad and uses it to travel to Logan’s grave, hoping to resurrect him and save their timeline. When this fails, Wade uses the TemPad to travel the multiverse in search of an alternate universe “variant” of Logan that can replace his own.
Wade returns to the TVA with a variant of Logan but is told by Paradox that an anchor being cannot be replaced, and that this variant is considered to be the worst Wolverine by the TVA due to failing to save his fellow X-Men. When Wade deduces that Paradox is acting without the knowledge of his superiors, Paradox sends Wade and Logan to the Void where all things are consumed by the creature Alioth. Wade and Logan are captured with Johnny Storm and taken to Cassandra Nova, the powerful and sadistic twin sister of X-Men leader Charles Xavier. Cassandra, who made a deal with the TVA to remain in the Void, kills Johnny for insulting her and leaves Wade and Logan to be consumed by Alioth. The pair manage to escape.
Logan and Wade meet variants of Deadpool called “Nicepool” and “Dogpool”, who give them a car and direct them towards a resistance group who have been fighting against Cassandra. Logan agrees to work with Wade in exchange for the TVA fixing his timeline, but when he realizes that this may not be possible the pair fight and are both left unconscious. They are found by the resistance group, consisting of Laura, Elektra, Blade and Gambit. Wade proposes an alliance to fight Cassandra, and Laura convinces Logan to join. The resistance members distract Cassandra’s henchmen while Wade and Logan block her powers by placing Juggernaut’s helmet on her head. Cassandra is betrayed by her follower Pyro on behalf of Paradox and almost dies until Logan convinces Wade to remove the helmet. Cassandra heals herself and opens a portal to Earth-10005 where Wade and Logan learn that Paradox has completed the Time Ripper.
Cassandra learns about Paradox’s plan from Pyro before executing him and travels to Earth-10005. She learns how to use the Time Ripper from Paradox’s mind and plans to destroy all timelines, leaving only the Void. Cassandra summons an army of Deadpool variants who kill Nicepool and battle Wade and Logan until Peter arrives and convinces them to relent. Paradox tells Wade and Logan that one of them could destroy the Time Ripper together, killing Cassandra in the process, and are able to survive by sharing the burden. Paradox is arrested by Hunter B-15 of the TVA, who reveals that the actions of Wade and Logan have saved Earth-10005 from deteriorating. Wade asks Hunter B-15 to save the resistance group from the Void and change the history of Logan’s world. She explains that the latter is not possible because Logan’s history is what led to him being a hero now. Later, Wade invites Logan to meet his friends. During a gathering that includes Laura and Dogpool, Logan encourages Wade to reconcile with Vanessa.
Cast[]
- Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson / Deadpool
- Hugh Jackman as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine
- Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova
- Morena Baccarin as Vanessa Carlysle
- Rob Delaney as Peter Wisdom
- Leslie Uggams as Blind A.I.
- Aaron Stanford as John Allerdyce / Pyro
- Matthew Macfadyen as Paradox
- Karan Soni as Dopinder
- Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead
- Shioli Kutsana as Yukio
- Stefan Kapičić as Piotr Rasputin / Colossus (voice)
- Randal Reeder as Buck
- Lewis Tan as Rusty / Shatterstar
- Jennifer Garner as Elektra Natchios
- Dafne Keen as Laura Howlett / X-23
- Channing Tatum as Remy LeBeau / Gambit
- Wesley Snipes as Eric Brooks / Blade
- Chris Evans as Johnny Storm / Human Torch
- Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
- Wunmi Mosaku as Hunter B-15
- Tyler Mane as Victor Creed / Sabretooth
- Aaron W. Reed as Cain Marko / Juggernaut
- Mike Waters as Frederick Dukes / Blob
- Billy Clements as the Russian
- Eduardo Gago Munoz as Azazel
- Jade Lye as Lady Deathstrike
- Ayesha Hussain as Psylocke
- Daniel Medina Ramos as Toad
- Curtis Small as Bullseye
- Chloe Kibble as Callisto
- Nilly Cetin as Quill
Marketing[]
The film's first trailer was released on February 11, 2024, during the Super Bowl LVIII. Nick Romano from Entertainment Weekly said the trailer confirmed the film's R-rating and also that Deadpool would be "infiltrating" the MCU. Austin Goslin of Polygon also highlighted the use of MCU elements and questioned whether Reynolds was playing the same version of Deadpool as he did in the previous films, due to how happy he is at the start of the trailer. Wired's Angela Wattercutter noted a sexually explicit pegging joke in the trailer, stating it was the first time the MCU had overtly used such humor before and speculated that the film could expand upon "queer" themes established in the prior MCU Thor films and Loki series. The inclusion of the comic Secret Wars (2015) #5 in the trailer was the topic of much discussion, given Marvel Studios was planning to release the film Avengers: Secret Wars (2027) and the comic issue centered on Doctor Doom creating Battleworld. Shortly after the trailer's premiere, Jackman posted a tongue-in-cheek jab at Reynolds with a modified logo displaying "Wolverine & Asshole". The trailer had 365 million global views in its first 24 hours, surpassing the record of Spider-Man: No Way Home (355.5 million views) to become the most viewed trailer in that time period. The reported views included the 123 million Super Bowl viewers who saw a 30-second version of the trailer.
A "silence your phones" public service announcement with Deadpool and Wolverine opened Disney's presentation at CinemaCon in April 2024, during which Feige and Levy debuted nine minutes of exclusive footage from the film. The Hollywood Reporter felt this "drew the biggest laughter" of all the presentations at the convention. It included repurposed Avengers: Infinity War footage of Chris Hemsworth as Thor, who is mourning the death of Deadpool rather than Loki as seen in that film. Feige said the film would receive an "intentionally crude and lewd" popcorn bucket, inspired by the viral popcorn bucket for Dune: Part Two (2024). A second trailer debuted on April 22, 2024, set to "Like a Prayer" by Madonna. An additional trailer released on May 20, announcing ticket pre-sales included a QR code that led to a video of Reynolds reading a disclaimer for the film. At the end of the month, a special popcorn bucket for the film's theatrical release was revealed, after Feige had said it would be "intentionally crude and lewd". This was inspired by the viral popcorn bucket for Dune: Part Two (2024). The bucket is shaped like Wolverine's head with a "comically oversized" mouth for the popcorn or other snacks. A video reveal, set to the "Also sprach Zarathustra" fanfare which was famously used in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), shows Deadpool caressing the bucket as popcorn falls into its mouth and butter drips down its nose.
A teaser released in early June revealed that the character Lady Deadpool would appear in the film, prompting speculation about who played the role, while Reynolds appeared as Deadpool in a "typically irreverent video" at CineEurope later that month to introduce 12 minutes of footage from the film. The cast went on a global marketing tour for the film starting in early July. The stops included: Shanghai, where Reynolds, Jackman, and Levy attended a fan event to screen 35 minutes of the film to attendees; Seoul, where the actors appeared at the 2024 Waterbomb Festival; Berlin, where the trio were joined by Corrin and attended the UEFA Euro 2024 quarterfinals match between Netherlands and Turkey; London, where the four actors and Levy were joined by Delaney, dog actor Peggy, and Marvel Studios executives Louis D'Esposito and Wendy Jacobson. Additionally, United Kingdom music and entertainment retailer HMV temporarily altered their logo for featuring the dog Nipper at one of their stores to be Dogpool, timed to the event; and Rio de Janeiro, where they visited Maracanã Stadium. Deadpool and Wolverine appeared in an ad for The Bachelorette on July 8 during the season 21 premiere, to entice the Bachelor Nation audience (the 18–49 female demographic) to see the film. The ad was from Maximum Effort, Loon Productions, and Really Original, and was directed by Oren Brimer. Reynolds also posted on social media to discuss his thoughts on the premiere. On July 19, Deadpool and Wolverine appeared in a music video for the single "Chk Chk Boom" by the South Korean boy band Stray Kids, whose song "Slash" is included on the film's soundtrack. A panel will occur at San Diego Comic-Con on July 25, the night of the film's release, to commemorate the film's opening, with Reynolds, Jackman, Levy, and Feige.
Marketing partners for the film included Reynolds's Aviation Gin, Heineken, DiGiorno, Jack in the Box, SuperX, Hot Topic, Homage, Heinz, Xbox, Adidas, and Casio. Funko and Hot Toys produced action figures of characters from the film, while Funko will also allow attendees at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con to be able to create personalized versions of their Funko Pop! figures modeled after Deadpool and Wolverine with various exclusives. Variant covers featuring production stills and promotional images from the film will be available on issues of Deadpool #3 in June 2024, Deadpool #4 and Deadpool & Wolverine: WWIII #3 in July, and Deadpool #5, Deadpool Team-Up #1, and Wolverine: Revenge #1 in August.
Release[]
Deadpool & Wolverine is scheduled to have its world premiere in New York City on July 22, 2024. The film is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom on July 25, and then in the United States and China on July 26, in IMAX, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, Cinemark XD, and other premium formats. It was previously scheduled for September 6 of that year, November 8, and then May 3. It will be part of Phase Five of the MCU.
Box office[]
Fandango announced that ticket pre-sales for the film were the best of 2024, the franchise's best, and the best for an R-rated film on the site, while AMC Theatres announced that 200,000 people bought first-day tickets at AMC, the most sales for any R-rated film at the theater chain. The Hollywood Reporter reported that first-day ticket sales were likely around $8–9 million and felt the film would debut at over $100 million, something no 2024 film release had done until the mid-June release of Inside Out 2 (2024), which opened at a domestic total of $154.2 million. The Quorum, which looks at box office projections for films as early as six weeks ahead of release, projected the film would open between $200–239 million. They said these were conservative projections and it was likely to open higher. Deadline Hollywood noted that no R-rated film had ever opened domestically over $200 million, with the record opening for an R-rated film being the first Deadpool with $132.4 million. Three weeks ahead of release, multiple tracking services projected the film would open between $160–165 million, which would still be a record opening for an R-rated film and the best opening for a 2024 release. Deadline Hollywood said Disney was expecting an opening in this range, and added that presale tickets was at $19 million. Quorum reaffirmed its projection of a $200+ million opening at that time.
Trailers[]
