Most of the famous X-Men villains, like Magneto or Apocalypse, are products of the ‘60s to the ‘90s. But the 21st century has provided us with one of the most lethal X-Men foes of all time, Cassandra Nova Xavier. The Crown’s Emma Corrin played the character with a sense of delicious, evil glee in Deadpool & Wolverine. Here’s the comic book history of one of the X-Men’s most dangerous adversaries.

Cassandra Nova’s Marvel Comics First Appearance

The genocidal maniac is the creation of writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, introduced during their New X-Men run in the early 2000s. The story that introduced her, “E is For Extinction,” was a game-changer for the X-Men.” First appearing in 2001’s New X-Men #114, she’s since popped up several other times. Usually her appearance makes life hell for the mutant race in each instance.

Cassandra Nova’s Origin Story, and Charles Xavier

Cassandra Nova is that tried and true villain archetype of fiction — the evil twin. But in Grant Morrison’s imagination, “evil twin” has an even darker meaning. Cassandra is what the alien Shi’ar Empire calls a Mummudrai. A Mummudrai is something the Shi’ar believe every living being in the universe has, an astral “shadow self” without form. Cassandra began existence in the same womb as Charles Xavier, but without a corporeal body. She then copied her twin brother’s DNA and essentially became his physical twin, and attempted to strangle her brother in the womb with their mother’s umbilical cord. But the fetus of Charles uses his powers for the first time with a psychic blast, which causes her to be stillborn.

However, the Mummudrai’s essence survived as “chaotic cellular matter.” That blob of cells clung to a sewer wall for years and years, slowly regrowing its physical form, rebuilding itself, and copying human traits. One thing fueled this malevolent being, and that was revenge on her twin brother Charles Xavier, and everything he held dear. Particularly his dream for mutant and human coexistence. Fully grown, Cassandra activated a Sentinel Master Mold, which unleashed the Homo-superior-hunting robots on the mutant nation of Genosha. There, it murdered 16 million mutants in one fell swoop.

Cassandra Nova and the X-Men

After the Genoshan genocide, Cassandra fought the X-Men, and they thought they defeated her. Actually, she switched minds with her brother Charles Xavier, and when he was in her body, she allowed him to be shot and seemingly killed. After months of posing as Charles and creating chaos, eventually Xavier reasserted control of his old body, thanks to Jean Grey storing pieces of his psyche in every mind on Earth, and then putting them back into his original body, forcing her out. Cassandra’s essence then entered a newly created body with a synthetic brain, now locked into a self-repeating program for all time. Or so they thought.

Cassandra Nova was once thought to have been released from her mental prison a few years later in Astonishing X-Men, but she turned out to be a mental projection by Emma Frost. Eventually, she escaped her imprisonment by hopping from one host body to another. Once free, she used Sentinel tech implanted in baseline humans to kill mutants. A human with this Sentinel tech in them would go wild with rage at the very sight of a mutant. Jean Grey eventually used her considerable psionic ability to enter her mind and thwart her plans. She did this by making her feel human empathy for the first time, which caused her to surrender.

Cassandra Nova in Marvel Comic’s X-Men Spin-off, Mauraders

When the mutant community founded their own nation on the living island of Krakoa, Cassandra Nova was moved there. Hoping she’d reformed, she joined Kate Pryde’s Marauders, a sort of corsair group of X-Men on the high seas. Pryde and Emma Frost never believed Nova had reformed, and still held much animosity towards her for the genocide of Genosha. Especially Emma Frost, who was the sole survivor. At one point, the Marauders found themselves stranded over two billion years in the past on a time travel mission. Emma and Kate decided to leave Cassandra Nova stranded there as payback for her heinous acts. What became of her after that remains a mystery. We seriously doubt it’s the last we’ve seen of her in the pages of the comics.

Cassandra Nova’s Powers

Cassandra Nova is one of the most powerful adversaries the X-Men have ever faced. As a Mummudrai, she mimicked all of Charles Xavier’s powers, including his telepathy, but also, all his latent mutant powers. Powers that were dormant within his DNA. Cassandra can do things he never could, like telekinesis, as well as phase through solid matter. She has regenerative capabilities comparable to those of Wolverine’s. She can also even evolve latent mutants to their true potential with a thought.

Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova in Deadpool & Wolverine

In Deadpool & Wolverine, Cassandra Nova’s origin is fairly close to her comic book counterpart. She is still the twin sister of Charles Xavier, who tried to kill him when they shared a womb, by strangling him with her umbilical cord. The MCU version does not appear old, retaining the looks of a younger woman. There’s no mention of anything alien with her creation, however. Cassandra Nova tells Deadpool and Wolverine that Xavier telepathically tried to kill her before she could walk, and she came to the TVA’s attention that way. All we know is that at some point after that, the TVA pruned her existence from the timeline of Earth-10005, and she wound up in the Void. The suggestion is that she grew up there.

Like her brother Charles, Cassandra Nova is an Omega Level mutant with powerful psychic abilities. Unlike her brother, however, she has tremendous telekinetic powers as well. While most others sent to the wasteland of the Void in Deadpool & Wolverine saw it as a curse, Cassandra Nova loved it there. She could use her power with impunity and force those exiled there to do her bidding. In her time in the Void, she killed several variants of her brother Charles Xavier exiled there, as well as a variant of Stephen Strange, taking his sling ring. With this sling ring, she was able to leave the Void whenever she wished. Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Cassandra Nova formed an arrangement with the TVA, however, that allowed her to run the Void with an iron fist, taking care of their “scraps.” In the end, Cassandra Nova proved too much of a wild card, so the TVA’s Mr. Paradox arranged for his spy in the Void, Pyro, to kill her. When she discovered his betrayal, she set out to use a TVA Time Ripper to destroy all timelines except for the Void itself. Luckily, Cassandra Nova was thwarted by Deadpool and Wolverine, and was atomized in the resulting explosion.

Cassandra Nova’s MCU Look

Cassandra Nova sported a very unique look in the MCU. Deadpool & Wolverine‘s makeup artist Bill Corso revealed a little bit more about the process of creating Cassandra. He writes, “When Emma was first cast, I did an initial concept design that leaned a little closer to Cassandra’s interpretation in the comics, but it was decided that Emma had such a wonderful look, why mess with it, just add the bald head. Not wanting to leave it at that, I still wanted to come up with something unusual I could add that would be fun and I realized Cassandra had so much action with her hands that it might be fun to lengthen her fingers. The trick was, when I lengthened them, they just looked normal, so I decided to elongate her nail bed to emphasize the weirdness and length.” The result was unusual and fun indeed.

Will Cassandra Nova Return to the MCU After Her Deadpool & Wolverine Death?

A being of such powerful psionic energy should not be counted out, though. Her brother Charles Xavier also survived his body being destroyed more than once. It’s quite possible we haven’t seen the last of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Cassandra Nova in the MCU.

Originally published on April 22, 2024

The post Who Is Marvel Comics’ Cassandra Nova? The Wild Story of DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s Villain appeared first on Nerdist.

Channing Tatum has been praying to god for the MCU to make a Gambit solo movie. And now, it seems like his wish is just one step closer to coming true, thanks to the sudden appearance of a “Marvel Sparkle Circle” in Gambit’s life. Ryan Reynolds shared a new Gambit scene from Deadpool & Wolverine which should delight Gambit’s many fans. This actually isn’t a new or deleted Gambit scene from Deadpool & Wolverine; instead, Ryan Reynolds shares that “A version of the sequence is in the film — on one of the monitors in the deep background of the TVA.” That version of the Gambit scene, however, doesn’t show us what this one does. As he’s walking through the remains of a battle, Gambit sees a sling ring portal opening for him in the sky. This scene doesn’t necessarily mean a Gambit solo movie is coming to the MCU, but it certainly implies that it could.

You can watch the new Gambit scene from Deadpool & Wolverine below.

The version of the scene in the Deadpool & Wolverine movie confirmed that Gambit remained alive after the gory fight in the Void with Cassandra Nova’s forces. But this new take on it reveals that Gambit is no longer stuck in the Void; instead, he’s welcomed out of it by a Marvel Sparkle Circle. That means after this scene, Channing Tatum’s Gambit can leave behind no man’s land and head to… well, his own solo movie if the Marvel gods wish for it to happen and/or anywhere in the multiverse.

Overall, Deadpool & Wolverine served as a goodbye to the 20th Century Fox versions of the X-Men characters. But it must be said that Gambit never really got his day in the sun. And so we suppose it would be okay, and kind of expected, for Marvel Studios to bring him back in an MCU movie, given his popularity after Deadpool & Wolverine.

Of course, as we said, just because Channing Tatum’s Gambit sees a sling-ring portal welcoming him to step back into the greater MCU in this new scene doesn’t mean he absolutely will. But whether or not we get to see it, we feel glad for Gambit that he can leave behind the Void.

The post New DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Gambit Scene Hints at MCU Return for Character appeared first on Nerdist.

Deadpool & Wolverine went through many different iterations before settling on a concept. At one point, it was actually going to be a road trip movie between Wade and Logan. Once the Multiverse was decided as a big part of the story, Marvel Studios concept artist Andy Park pitched a scene where Deadpool travels through various Earths in the Multiverse, and lands on the comic book version of the Marvel Universe, a.k.a. Earth-616. He even drew up a scene where Deadpool lands in the iconic shot from Avengers, only with the heroes’ comic book counterparts instead. You can check out Andy Parks’ concept art, which he shared on Instagram, below:

So who were the artists inspiring this piece of concept art from Andy Park? We spot a Rob Liefeld version of Deadpool in there (of course), and a Jack Kirby-inspired Captain America. The Hulk looks to be in the style of longtime Incredible Hulk penciler Sal Buscema, with Thor giving Walter Simonson vibes. Hawkeye looks like Al Milgrom’s rendition of Clint Barton from West Coast Avengers, and Black Widow looks a bit like her portrayal by Jim Lee in an issue of Uncanny X-Men. And Iron Man, in his white and red “Silver Centurion” armor, appears to draw inspiration from the art of Mark Bright.

Sadly, this scene never made it past the concept stage. It would have been a blast to see on screen. We have a feeling that Kevin Feige might have stepped in here. After all, he’s adamant that “the Sacred Timeline” of the MCU is Earth-616. Longtime comic book fans know that’s actually the designation of the main universe of monthly Marvel Comics. That is where the term “Earth-616” originally came from. (Something that Ms. Marvel star and superfan Iman Vellani is hilariously adamant about reminding Kevin Feige of constantly). Feige was probably wary of starting a fan discourse of which universe is really Earth-616. They’ll just have to put a pin in that debate until Avengers: Secret Wars stirs it all back up again.

The post Early DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Concept Art Shows Wade Meeting the Comic Book Avengers appeared first on Nerdist.

In Deadpool & Wolverine, there are a metric ton of Wade Wilson variants in the Deadpool Corps. Actually, for all we know, some of them might not be Wade (or Wanda) Wilson at all! Even with all of those variants like Lady Deadpool and others, there were some that didn’t make the final cut of the film. Recently, Deadpool & Wolverine’s senior concept artist David Masson has been sharing some of the concept art pieces for the variants from the Void who never got to pop out of that portal via his Instagram. Seeing them now, we sure wish some of them did.

Wolverpool/Deadverine

First up is one we really wish got to be in the final film, based on his design. It’s Wolverpool (or perhaps Deadverine?) As the names suggest, he’s a Wolverine/Deadpool mashup. Is he Logan under that mask, or is he Wade? Maybe he some weird genetic experiment combining the two? Alas, we shall probably never know. But he sure looks cool, doesn’t he?

Punkpool

A punk rock variant was good enough for Spidey in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, so why not a punk rock Deadpool? Punkpool has all the classic punk rock tropes, from the studded jacket to the mohawk to the anarchy symbol. Maybe this version of Wade Wilson came from ’70s London? Oh, the absurd accent Ryan Reynolds could give him. Maybe they thought he was just too much like Spider-Punk in the end.

Masson is also sharing other variants that never made it past the concept stage, like Grandma Deadpool, and Mexican wrestler Deadpool. Maybe that one just looked too much like Batman villain Bane. And is that a Pigpool we see in the video? We expect Mr. Masson to share more soon via his Instagram. Who knows, maybe another Deadpool sequel might allow some of these weirdos to see life on the big screen. Anything is possible in the Multiverse, right?

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Concept Art of Unused Variants Is Wonderfully Goofy appeared first on Nerdist.

We were all super excited to see Channing Tatum finally get his day in the sun as Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine. But will that lead to more action for the actor as the beloved X-Men character? Well, Channing Tatum, for one, sure hopes so. He shared with Variety that “he’s already told Marvel he still wants to make it happen.” It being a standalone Gambit movie starring, of course, Tatum. He notes, “I’ve of course I’ve said it. I’ve been saying I want it for the last 10 years… It’s in Bob Iger and Kevin Feige’s hands. I pray to God.”

Well, that sounds like some pretty intense wanting to us. With the success of Deadpool & Wolverine and the love Channing Tatum’s Gambit is receiving, who knows what’s around the corner?

On Instagram, Tatum shared some sincere reflections on finally getting to play Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine. He notes, “I sat in the audience when Ryan showed his first peek of Deadpool 1 to the world and I think I ran back stage right after and found him and I think I just hugged him and was like holy shit you did it man. It’s perfect. I didn’t know him really at all back then. But since then I can say that there is almost no one that has had my back in this industry more than Ryan. I thought I had lost Gambit forever. But he fought for me and Gambit. I will owe him probably forever. Cause I’m not sure how I could ever do something that would be equal to what this has meant to me. I love ya buddy. Shawn Levy as well. Truly such a brilliant creator on every single level. All things happen for a reason. I’m so grateful to be in this movie. It’s a masterpiece in my opinion. And just pure bad ass joy. I was literally screaming in the theater. LFG!!”

Most recently, Tatum also shared some behind-the-scenes shot of himself as the character, celebrating the movie’s success.

This level of pure Gambit love that Channing Tatum exudes honestly has us in our feelings. Get this man a Gambit movie, stat!

Originally published on August 9, 2024.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s Channing Tatum Is Praying for a Gambit Solo Movie appeared first on Nerdist.

Deadpool & Wolverine didn’t reveal whether or not Hugh Jackman will return to the MCU. But should he? Or should the box office smash serve as his farewell to Logan? There’s a great case for him to return for more superhero fun, but there’s an equally compelling case for him to put away his adamantium claws for good. So we’re making both. In this piece Mikey Walsh argues why Deadpool & Wolverine should be Jackman’s last time as playing the iconic character. Meanwhile Eric Diaz made the case for why this should only be the start of Jackman’s MCU career.

The best stories end. A definitive conclusion provides a type of satisfaction, meaning, and purpose that open-ended or unfinished narratives can’t. That’s what Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine deserves, an ending worthy of his time in the role, because it’s one of Hollywood’s best, most important stories. And he’ll never get a better, more appropriate chance to close the book on Logan than Deadpool & Wolverine. The movie is one of the most successful films of all-time. It’s also arguably Jackman’s single best performance as the character. But the best reason for him to finally bid farewell to the iconic mutant for good is that it would bring his story full circle in the most fitting way. He’ll say goodbye as the center of the world’s most successful franchise, which only exists because of him.

There is no MCU without Fox’s X-Men movies. Before the original 2000 film no one knew if general audiences would turn out for superhero movies unless they starred the most famous comic book characters like Superman and Batman. Fox took a big risk on Marvel’s mutants. The studio didn’t even think people would accept comic-accurate superhero costumes back then. Without X-Men and its many sequels, the Marvel Cinematic Universe simply wouldn’t exist. At least not the way we know it. Fox’s franchise showed viewers would learn to care about lesser known comic book characters. The series’ many mistakes also provided lessons the MCU learned from to make something even better.

But none of that happens without Jackman, who was a last second replacement as Logan. In a franchise built around a team he was the anchor. Wade Wilson was 100% right in Deadpool & Wolverine when he said Wolverine was “THE X-Man” in his world. Jackman was so important he starred in the only three pure standalone X-Men Fox films.

Without him there’s no X-Men franchise, just one unimportant movie. Without the X-Men franchise there’s no MCU. It’s that simple. So what better place for his story to come full circle and actually end than in a record-setting MCU film where he gives an incredible performance? He’s at the top of the top. There’s nowhere else for him to go now as Wolverine but down. Even if he joins Secret Wars he’ll be just one character of many. He’ll never again own the MCU spotlight like does in Deadpool & Wolverine. Then the multiverse will reset and someone else will take over the role entirely.

Now’s the time—after a movie that not only finally let him wear his comics-accurate suit, but that fully captured why people love the character so much—for him to call it quits. Not because he doesn’t have more to give, or because we don’t want to see him again. (He does and selfishly we do.) The best of the best deserve the best ending, and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine isn’t just an all-time great pairing of actor and character. He didn’t just provide more than two decades of joy for audience members. He changed the course of cinematic history. He’s on the superhero movie Mount Rushmore. Conquering the MCU was the last thing left for him to do in the role. He deserves a superhero’s farewell.

Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is one of the best stories in Hollywood history. More than anyone he deserved to join the MCU, because there are few the MCU owes more than him. And he deserves the very best the MCU can give him. It’ll never give him anything better than a chance to go out when he’s still the best Wolverine.

Are you now convinced Hugh Jackman should finally say goodbye to Wolverine? Don’t make up your mind until you read Eric Diaz’s case for why this should just be the start of his MCU run.

The post Why DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Should Be Hugh Jackman’s Final Film as Wolverine appeared first on Nerdist.

Deadpool & Wolverine didn’t reveal whether or not Hugh Jackman will return to the MCU on a more permanent basis. But should he? Could this be the start of a whole new era for him as Logan? There’s a great case for him to put away his adamantium claws for good, but there’s an equally compelling case for him not to. So we’re making both. In this piece, Eric Diaz argues why Deadpool & Wolverine should be Jackman’s official return to playing the iconic character long term. Meanwhile, Michael Walsh made the case for why this should be Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine swan song.

Hugh Jackman’s return as Logan in Deadpool & Wolverine was a giant shock when they announced it. Mainly thanks to his very public retirement from the role after Logan, in which his iconic character nobly sacrificed himself to save his daughter Laura. Well, cut to seven years later, and Jackman is more excited than ever to pop his claws into some bad guys’ heads in Deadpool & Wolverine, which has now made over a billion dollars at the box office. And although the film works as a final swan song, we think he’s back in the saddle for the long term for him. And maybe that’s a good idea.

When Jackman retired from playing the character in Logan, he had played the part in nine films over seventeen years. He had starring roles in the original X-Men trilogy, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, and X-Men: Days of Future Past, a Weapon X cameo in Apocalypse, and one colorful f-bomb laden cameo in X-Men: First Class. It’s a lot of times at bat, so we totally get why Hugh wanted to hang up the claws for good. But then, a few things happened that we think slowly changed his mind permanently. One of those was getting the chance to act against other Marvel heroes, something Jackman has always publicly wanted to do.

Since the days of 2013’s The Wolverine press tour, Jackman has talked about how he wished to join the Avengers. At the time, that all seemed impossible. But even then, Jackman seemed confident that one day, the powers that be would allow for the Fox Marvel characters and the Marvel Studios characters to play in the same sandbox. That prediction showed Jackman was a bit of prophet, because Disney bought Fox in 2018. One year after he retired from playing Wolverine. We bet he regrets the timing of that decision.

It should be noted that Jackman takes pride in the fact no one else has played Wolverine in live-action. (Well, except for a young future pop star Troye Sivan in X-Men Origins. But we don’t really count that one) From the time he first “snikt” his claws, we’ve had three Spider-Mans, three Hulks, three Supermans, and three Batmans. Soon we’ll even have three sets of the Fantastic Four. Through all of this, Hugh has remained the one and only Wolverine, synonymous with the role. Now that he’s back, we think he wants to take the record for actor with the longest tenure as one superhero. Honestly, who can do it better than him? At this point, we can’t think of many.

Getting older is usually a hindrance to playing a superhero for more than a few years. Yet given the gruffness and general “grumpy old man” nature of Wolverine, Jackman getting on in years might actually make him more Logan-like. His best performance as the character is still in James Mangold’s Logan, where they aged him up a bit. So we know a grizzlier, older Wolverine works great on screen already. Jackman, age 55, could easily pull the character off in this manner for another decade. Even if he might finally have to relax a bit on getting so shredded.

We are fairly confident that Jackman (and Ryan Reynolds) will both be in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. But what about after? Marvel has officially announced an X-Men reboot as coming in the next few years. One assumes this would be all-new actors in the roles of Xavier’s students. We think Jackman could very well carry over into the role into the MCU proper. But how would that even work? Well, the team dynamics would have to change, for starters. If it’s a younger Cyclops and Jean Grey, having Logan in a love triangle with them would be creepy. He also wouldn’t be contemporaries with the likes of Storm and Beast.

Kevin Feige might just do what he does best—look to the comics for inspiration. In the 2013 series Wolverine and the X-Men, after the deaths of Xavier and Jean Grey, Logan takes over as Headmaster of the School for Gifted Youngsters. The “Doesn’t play well with others” guy now had to become a father figure to a new generation of mutants. This could work in the MCU. Imagine if Logan arrives at the Sacred Timeline just as mutants are coming into their own. As a way of making up for his failure in his world, he dedicates himself to shepherding the 616’s emerging mutants. Some of which might be familiar to him from a previous life.

We genuinely think that Hugh Jackman was sincere when he chose to retire from playing Wolverine back in 2017. But now that he’s chosen to come back, he feels very “all in” for the foreseeable future. And that includes going past Deadpool & Wolverine, and even past Avengers: Secret Wars, into the X-Men’s future in the MCU. In the comics, Logan’s favorite saying is “I’m the best there is and what I do. And what I do ain’t pretty.” Well, time has proven that Jackman is the best there is at what he does, which is play Logan. At this juncture, who could do it better? We have a very strong feeling Hugh Jackman is going to be the one and only Wolverine for some time to come.

The post Why DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Should Not Be Hugh Jackman’s Final Film as Wolverine  appeared first on Nerdist.

Deadpool & Wolverine saw a metric ton of cameos from Marvel movies of yore, mostly from 20th Century Fox. The jaws of fans everywhere collectively dropped when Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Garner, Channing Tatum, Dafne Keen, and Chris Evans appeared on screen portraying their old Marvel characters. But as many returning actors as there were, there were a few who didn’t make the cut. Some actors (shockingly) Marvel never asked. While appearing on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, director Shawn Levy confirmed who he asked to return, and which actors he never thought to ask back.

Sir Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier

Rumors were swirling around all year about Patrick Stewart returning as Professor X. Yet despite those rumors, Shawn Levy never really entertained Stewart returning for Deadpool & Wolverine. On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Levy even said ” He was never even discussed.” Although he did say actress Emma Corin, who plays Xavier’s evil twin sister Cassandra Nova, studied his performance carefully.

Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth

Despite Liev Schreiber working with Shawn Levy on another project right now, the director confirmed he never invited him to come back as Sabretooth. He played a version of the feral mutant killer in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. His return was nixed simply because one of the film’s writers, Zeb Wells, had a fondness for the Tyler Mane version from the original X-Men.

The Original X-Men Cast

Speaking of the OG X-Men cast, despite all the online reports of Halle Berry, James Marsden, Famke Janssen, and Anna Paquin returning to the roles of Storm, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Rogue, respectively, Shawn Levy said he never considered them. This only lends fuel to the fire that Kevin Feige plans to “retire them” in another project.

James McAvoy as Professor Charles Xavier

A different Charles Xavier, James McAvoy, also confirmed that they never invited him back However, he did have to sign off on the use of his footage for the end credits montage. He told Variety, when asked about Marvel Studios asking if could return, “No, no, no, no. Not this one. I don’t think so. If there was a world, they clearly threw that idea out the window before calling me, so no.”

Nicolas Cage as Ghost Rider

Not an X-Men character, or even a Fox Marvel hero, but Ryan Reynolds confirmed that he had conversations with Nicolas Cage returning as Ghost Rider. Without quite elaborating on what became of those conversations. All Reynolds would say to Collider was “It came to a conversation for sure. Yeah, but no.” Maybe Cage didn’t want another CGI Superman situation like in The Flash? We wouldn’t blame him.

Halle Berry as Storm

This one didn’t come from Levy, but Halle Berry herself revealed that she was ready and willing to come back as Storm in Deadpool & Wolverine but Ryan Reynolds never reached out (and neither did anyone else.) Speaking to ComicBook, Berry noted, “Blake [Lively] asked me one time—I ran into her at a Marc Jacobs fashion show—and she said, ‘Would you ever be in my husband’s movie as Storm?’ I said, ‘Yeah, if he asked me,’ but he never asked me.

We wouldn’t be shocked to hear of other cut cameos, or characters that were not even considered. But hey, Avengers: Secret Wars might have everyone in it! It’s not too late to see old Marvel actors one last time.

Originally published on August 8, 2024.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Director Shawn Levy Confirms Which Marvel Actors Weren’t Asked to Return appeared first on Nerdist.

No one would have been surprised, nor would they have cared, if Deadpool & Wolverine turned Hugh Jackman’s comics accurate yellow suit into an easy joke. The gag seemingly wrote itself, especially in a fourth-wall breaking movie. The original X-Men film, which got its own meta laugh out of him not putting in yellow spandex, provided Wade Wilson with the perfect setup.

“Why are you wearing your costume?”
“What would you prefer, black leather?”

Instead the movie took 20-plus years of anticipation and gave us something so much better than a quippy one-liner. It made the payoff of finally seeing Logan’s comic book costume on the big screen worth the long wait by making his reason for wearing it one of the best parts of Deadpool & Wolverine.

We didn’t need any sort of explanation for why Hugh Jackman wore his character’s comics costume in Deadpool & Wolverine. In the infinite multiverse an infinite number of Wolverines have an infinite number of reasons for wearing a yellow and blue superhero suit. The film also worked in large part because it actively didn’t care about making sense of most things. It was just having fun. And actually seeing Jackman in yellow was a whole lot of fun. The movie successfully turned another longtime comics fan complaint into comedy gold, too. The comic accurate-tall Logan was a fantastic, short visual gag.

But Deadpool & Wolverine opted to do something much more powerful. It gave Logan’s costume real meaning to both the character and the story.

Throughout the film, Wade kept asking Logan why a disgraced superhero would not only wear his suit, but keep it on underneath his normal clothes. Wolverine repeatedly refused to answer, building more and more suspense the film would have to justify. The answer more than did that.

A sad, broken Logan finally explained his attire to Laura, the person in the multiverse who understands him best, while he considered whether or not to fight for Wade’s universe. “Scott used to beg me to wear this suit,” Logan said. “So did Storm and Beast. But I couldn’t have them thinking I wanted to be there. And now it’s too late.”

He didn’t wear the suit because he wanted to. He wore it because he needed to. It brought him closer to the friends he’d lost. That yellow and blue spandex was how he grieved. It was how he showed his love. It was how he remembered the fallen.

But he also wore it as penance for the guilt he carried with him over the mistakes he’d made. If a man with regenerative abilities had simply allowed himself to be vulnerable, to truly let himself be a part of the X-Men, he could have saved all his friends when the humans came for them.

Instead, as with the Wolverine from Fox’s X-Men films, he was too cool for that. So he pushed them away so much that he awasn’t there when his fellow mutants needed them. He failed them all in life. Then he failed them in death when he turned his anger and fury into a search for vengeance.

And yet, that yellow getup was also what he wore when he finally became the man Charles Xavier always thought Logan was. The professor knew the hero that resided inside Logan’s reluctant heart. When that Wolverine finally broke forth it did so through a yellow suit that also represented the best version of him.

That suit represented every mistake Wolverine had ever made, every dream he’d ever had, everyone he’d ever loved and lost, everything he’d always hoped to be, and everything he ultimately proved he was was represented by that suit. It was a symbol of the character in all his faults and glories. It was everything people have always loved about Wolverine – his depth, his contradictions, and his inherent triumph over himself. That’s why the movie had him wear his iconic superhero suit. Not because it was cool to see Hugh Jackman in it after all this time. Not because it was funny or would sell toys. He wore it for the best reason possible, because it had meaning.

We waited a very long time to see Wolverine on the big screen in his yellow and blue suit. The fact he never had was a literal joke from his movie debut. But all that waiting was more than worth it. We got something better than we’d ever hoped for because Deadpool & Wolverine made Logan’s comics-accurate suit truly worthy of the character.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Made the Wait for the Yellow Suit Worthy of the Character appeared first on Nerdist.

Lady Deadpool was one of the Deadpool Variants that Deadpool & Wolverine teased us with even before the movie was released in theaters. After some initial quick glimpses, we got a good look at her strutting her stuff in the final trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine. But the fully masked nature of the lady in question led fans to ask the natural next question. Just who plays Lady Deadpool in Deadpool & Wolverine? In case you didn’t sit through the credits to find out, here’s the truth about the actress behind the Lady Deadpool mask and ponytail. (And it turns out this Deadpool & Wolverine casting has a surprisingly rich history to it.)

Blake Lively Plays Lady Deadpool in Deadpool & Wolverine

So, just who is it that plays Lady Deadpool in Deadpool & Wolverine? Well, as many fans theorized, Lady Deadpool’s actress is Blake Lively. There isn’t yet confirmation of whether Lively was actually wearing the Lady Deadpool costume in the MCU movie or just giving voice to the role. However, one way or the other, Blake Lively is credited as Lady Deadpool in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Of course, this casting makes sense on a surface level because Blake Lively is married to Deadpool’s actor Ryan Reynolds. But there’s actually an interesting Marvel history to Blake Lively playing Lady Deadpool that extends beyond this real-world connection.

Rob Liefeld Designed Lady Deadpool with Blake Lively in Mind Over a Decade Before Deadpool & Wolverine

In 2010, Deadpool’s creator, Rob Liefeld, first unmasked Lady Deadpool in Marvel Comics. And in 2022, he shared an Instagram post discussing the character at greater length. In it, he noted that Blake Lively served as the inspiration for Lady Deadpool’s unmasked form in the 2010 comic. Liefield shared:

My most bad-ass contribution to Girl Power in comics, LADY DEADPOOL! First introduced 13 years back, we unmasked her in 2010, with her unblemished visage. Based entirely on Blake Lively as Joy and I were crazy Uber Gossip Girl fans (who wasn’t right?), never missing an episode. Yup, I pleaded a strong case that Wanda Wilson was a stunning blonde, no scars and Marvel thought that was a cool idea. Invoked Blake [Lively] on GG and they gave me the thumbs up. Serena Van Der Woodsen forever! Upon meeting Blake [Lively] on the set of Deadpool, I was tongue tied in the most embarrassing fashion. Years later at the Golden Globes I again bothered to the point I think I was speaking in tongues. If ever we are blessed with Lady Deadpool on screen I’m pretty certain Ms. Lively will have some say in the casting. 

Yes, it was Liefeld’s great love of Gossip Girl and Blake Lively’s character Serena Van Der Woodsen that inspired the unmasked Lady Deadpool in Marvel Comics. We’ll talk more about Wanda Wilson below, but it seems like she might have been completely different looking without Lively’s influence. The blonde hair, the clear skin, the long blonde ponytail—those Marvel Comics Lady Deadpool features all came right from the actress herself.

Rob Liefeld Had No Idea Blake Lively Would Actually Play Lady Deadpool

What a truly happy accident. And no, Liefeld had no idea that Blake Lively was actually about to play Lady Deadpool in Deadpool & Wolverine at the time. As he notes in his Instagram share, he never managed to get up the courage to tell the actress about the way she inspired the Marvel Comics character.

Additionally, Lively shares in her own post, “Just before all this in 2010, @robliefeld drew an unmasked Lady Deadpool for the first time, go to the next slide for his words. @deadpoolmovie wasn’t real. And Rob had no idea I was working with @vancityreynolds. 12 years later, I read Rob’s post. A year after that, @deadpoolmovie 3 was filmed… And today it’s in theaters. The universe has such a magical sense of humor sometimes.” It does at that.

Blake Lively also recently revealed, “Rob Liefeld, who drew LadyPool, I had no idea, but in 2010, he drew Lady Deadpool, and at the same time, I was cast in the Green Lantern with my now husband, who was not my husband then. The timeline, I know it gets a little like you need a conspiracy yarn to track it. But, basically, there was no association with Ryan [Reynolds], Ryan [Reynolds] had no association with Deadpool. He was supposed to make this movie. But, it was a pipe dream. It wasn’t ever really going to happen. And Rob Liefeld drew LadyPool, and I guess he and his wife watched Gossip Girl? So, it was just kind of crazy how the world…”

The interviewer then remarks of Blake Lively’s casting as Lady Deadpool, “So he already had you in mind for that?” And Lively replies, “He did. And then you know, my husband and I got married, and Deadpool was made. Then they were looking for a LadyPool, so, you know. I was available”

Who Is Blake Lively’s Character, Lady Deadpool, in Deadpool & Wolverine and Marvel Comics?

Although we know that Blake Lively is the actress behind Lady Deadpool in Deadpool & Wolverine, Lady Deadpool never actually unmasks in the MCU movie. But in addition to her casting, we know that Lady Deadpool was the fearless leader of “the Deadpool Corps,” the group of Deadpools that Cassandra Nova had amassed in the void. Lady Deadpool and the rest engage in a bloody battle with Deadpool and Wolverine as they try to stop Nova from shredding the universe.

Meanwhile, in Marvel Comics, Lady Deadpool is described as follows, “Motivated by money, television, junk food, and sometimes love, this merc with a mouth packs lipgloss and is known as Lady Deadpool.” In addition, we know Lady Deadpool’s name is Wanda Wilson and she hails from the Earth-3010 reality where she is a female Deadpool counterpart. She’s also a “former mercenary and government test-subject” who fights in a Second American Civil War against a fascistic American government. Lady Deadpool dies in the comics in Deadpool Kills Deadpool #3 in 2013. Like Deadpool, Lady Deadpool has a rapid healing factor, but “regenerating brain cells due to repeated brain injuries leaves her sanity and memories severely damaged.” Additionally, she’s an incredible athlete with “peak human strength, speed and agility.” Lady Deadpool has incredible skill in multiple unarmed combat techniques but also excels with weapons and wields a combination of guns and swords.

Other Blake Lively References in Deadpool & Wolverine

Blake Lively’s Lady Deadpool appearance and credits mention weren’t the only times that Lively played a role in Deadpool & Wolverine, though. Deadpool is a very Meta character and often breaks the fourth wall. And some of those fourth wall breaks invoked Blake Lively as the wife of Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds.

In the movie’s opening sequence, one of Deadpool’s one-liners notes, “There are 206 bones in the human body—207 if I’m watching Gossip Girl.” Blake Lively, of course, starred in Gossip Girl. Later in the movie, Deadpool scolds Wolverine, “Get your mind out of my pants, man, or I’m telling Blake.”

We expected Blake Lively to play Lady Deadpool, but we could not have expected her to be so entrenched in so many aspects of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s world. And who knows, we just might see Lady Deadpool and Blake Lively back again in some other part of the MCU’s world.

Originally published on July 30, 2024.

The post Who Plays Lady Deadpool in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE? The Actress Behind the Mask Revealed appeared first on Nerdist.

Deadpool & Wolverine certainly had its fair share of cameos but this one would have taken the cake. Paul Wernick revealed in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter that the creative team wrote a scene for Robert Downey, Jr. to return as Tony Stark in Deadpool & Wolverine. And we bet you already know exactly where he would fit in! Wade goes to Avengers Tower to meet up with Happy and asks to join the Avengers and asks if Tony Stark will be a part of the interview. Of course, he doesn’t appear and Happy rejects him from the team. But, in an earlier script, Tony was right there with Happy and certainly would have had a snarky comment about the Merc with a Mouth. 

“There is a script. We have the Downey draft,” confirmed Wernick. The writers left the scene easy to adjust in case Downey declined the cameo or if Marvel decided against it. We aren’t sure exactly why it didn’t happen but we’d bet it is because of Downey’s big MCU return as Doctor Doom. Either way, the Deadpool & Wolverine scene was great, even without Robert Downey, Jr. dropping in for a Tony Stark cameo.

The post A Robert Downey, Jr. DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Cameo as Tony Stark Was Written in Early Script appeared first on Nerdist.

After the billion-dollar success of Deadpool & Wolverine, officially bringing in the Fox mutants into the larger story, the big question is “What’s next?” for mutants in the MCU? After all, with all the most iconic Fox-era X-Men not showing up in the film, it’s pretty clear that Kevin Feige is saving the A-list X-Men for a more proper farewell. And that solution involves putting the Avengers and the X-Men on screen together at last, almost certainly in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Yes, the return of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom is a big way of keeping this new momentum going for the MCU after Deadpool & Wolverine. But if Kevin Feige really wanted to make the next two Avengers films an event that even the most jaded and burnt-out MCU fans would have to check out in theaters? It will be a proper Avengers/X-Men crossover. Or to be more accurate, an Avengers/Fantastic Four/X-Men crossover, as we now know the FF will star in Doomsday and Secret Wars as well. Certain hints that have popped up recently suggest Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Marvel’s Mutants are headed for a collision course with multiversal ramifications.

The X-Men Hints So Far in the MCU

Since Disney acquired Fox back in 2019, fans have been asking “So when are the X-Men coming to the MCU?” Even She-Hulk asked it in her own show. And so far, Marvel Studios has been playing the long game, not jumping into anything. We got the mutant hint in Ms. Marvel, and Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier in Multiverse of Madness. Heck, we’re not convinced that Evan Peters’ Quicksilver in WandaVision isn’t more than he seems and not just a gag. The biggest, of course, is Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine, along with a metric ton of Fox Marvel mutants.

So why do we think the classic Fox X-Men are back for another go-round? First off, The Marvels revealed yet another connection to the X-Men universe with the return of Kelsey Grammar as Beast, working in the X-mansion from the original films. If this is indeed Earth-10005, Deadpool & Wolverine left that universe with a Logan from another timeline in it. Also, Monica Rambeau is stuck there as well. We call those incursion events. With incursion events suggesting a collision between Earth-10005 and Earth-616 is imminent, that can only mean we’re getting an Avengers vs. X-Men project. An announcement of that magnitude would stop all talk of “Marvel Fatigue” dead in its tracks. Just from a mercenary business perspective, it makes sense. But frankly, it’s also a story Marvel fans have waited decades to see.

Will These MCU Mutants Be the X-Men We Know?

The big question is, which X-Men are we dealing with here? Beast was working in a lab that looked identical to the underground medical bay in the Fox X-Men films. The Charles Xavier we saw in Doctor Strange on Earth-838 seemed very reminiscent of the one from X-Men: The Animated Series. But the Scarlet Witch killed that Charles. Obviously, the Charles that the Beast refers to seems to be very much alive. So, this is another hint that Beast is in the classic X-Men movie universe, not Earth-838. Or, at least, a version of the classic Fox X-Men world. And yes, we know his appearance looks different. We remind you that the look of comic book Beast is continually evolving. No reason to think the live-action Henry McCoy would be any different.

X-Men: Days of Future Past May Hold the Answer

Fans of the Fox X-Men films know that the timeline and continuity of those films are a bit of a mess. And that’s putting it mildly. But at the end of X-Men: Days of Future Past, Logan’s adventures in the past caused him to wake up in a new present. Essentially, a “happy ending” future, where Xavier is still alive. The school was open, and former tragically dead X-Men like Cyclops and Jean Grey were alive and well. In fact, Kelsey Grammer’s Beast was there too, in a cameo moment. All of this scene takes place canonically in 2023. The “Winchester Incident,” where Charles Xavier accidentally killed hundreds of people with his powers, as described in Logan, happened in 2028. In the Earth-10005 of Deadpool & Wolverine, a functioning X-Men team is still out there. Probably the same one Beast is a part of in The Marvels.

Given one of the music cues in The Marvels’ post-credits scene is from Days of Future Past, we think that they’re trying to tell us that we’re in that “happy ending” reality from that film. A reality that takes the best elements of the original movies and loses the things viewers hated. Mainly, the random and arbitrary deaths of the main X-Men. Not to mention, comic book-accurate costumes like the ones we saw for Logan and Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine. So, it’s a “new” X-Men timeline, simply made up of bits and pieces of the old one. And part of what it’s keeping is the classic actors. The rest is up to the Russo Brothers.

Deadpool & Wolverine May Set the Stage for an Avengers/X-Men: Battle Royale

Now that Deadpool & Wolverine has come out, we know all the Fox mutants who appeared in it were secondary characters. If this was meant as the fond farewell to the Fox X-Men universe, it seems extremely odd that Kevin Feige didn’t include any of the big guns. Until you realize it’s probably because he’s saving them for Doomsday/Secret Wars. And we understand his reasoning here. If you’re going to bring back the classic X-Men cast, like Patrick Stewart and Halle Berry, it seems only using them in small roles in Deadpool & Wolverine is a waste. No, we think there are much bigger plans afoot.

Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers and Secret Wars Will Likely Be Adapted

The 2015 event comic Secret Wars, and its lead-up Avengers story, “Time Runs Out,” both by writer Jonathan Hickman, began when incursions across the Multiverse resulted in its total destruction. Eventually, there were only two realities left—the classic 616, and Earth 1610, home of Marvel’s Ultimate Universe. Eventually, both of those realities had to do battle with each other to determine which one would get to live. Spoiler alert—neither reality gets to live, and Doctor Doom fuses what remains of them (as well as a few others) together into a new “Battleworld.” And with Doctor Doom confirmed as the main villain of the next two Avengers films, an adaptation of this part of the story seems even more likely than ever.

In Doomsday and Secret Wars, we could get a version of that story. But it would be the MCU Earth vs the Fox X-Men Earth. Earth-616 (The Sacred Timeline) and Earth-10005 (X-Men Earth) battling it out. Somehow, the Fantastic Four will be part of this also. The protectors of each reality would have to fight for the existence of their world. Much like Captain America: Civil War, neither side would be wrong. A scenario familiar to the returning Russo Brothers, as well as writer Stephen McFeely. Who wouldn’t fight to protect everyone they know from total annihilation? In an Infinity Wars-type cliffhanger, we could see both realities fade to white, presumably destroyed. A sixth Avengers film could open on Battleworld, a hodgepodge reality made of elements of both universes. It would be an excuse to bring back anybody they wanted.

X-Men vs. Avengers: A Battle Fans Have Waited Decades to See

From a pure fan point of view, the battles would be cant-miss events. Thor vs. Storm, Wolverine vs. Hulk, Scarlet Witch vs. Phoenix, etc. And yes, an all-star lineup of Avengers vs. an all-star lineup of X-Men is a lot of characters. But let us remind you that Civil War juggled 18 principal characters. Infinity War and Endgame showcased 30, and somehow gave everyone something to do. So an Avengers/X-Men crossover could absolutely work. No wonder Kevin Feige gave Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame screenwriter Stephen McFeely a call. He, along with his writing partner Christopher Markus, was extremely adept at juggling so many superheroes cohesively, and giving emotional character stakes to these comic book battles.

After Secret Wars, the MCU will almost certainly reboot. Even if it’s a soft reboot. A new X-Men film will likely feature brand-new versions of the characters. But the classics will still get their swan song moment before that happens. The original X-Men films truly started the Marvel superhero craze in cinemas after Blade proved to the general audience that it could be done. It led to Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, and ultimately, the MCU. If Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are intended to bring an end to not just one era of storytelling, but going back even before the MCU, what better way to go out than with a bang?

Originally published November 16, 2023.

The post Is AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY and SECRET WARS Gearing Up to Be an Avengers/X-Men Crossover? appeared first on Nerdist.

ADR, or Additional (or Automatic) Dialogue Recording (or Replacement), is an essential part of filmmaking. Especially in action movies, filled with punches landing on jaws and loud howls of pain from all variety of violence. And no actor has made the ADR recordings for action scenes more iconic than Hugh Jackman. Videos of his sessions for his previous two decades as Wolverine have made the rounds online for years, and let’s just say, Hugh really gets into it. Now, Hugh Jackman has added to his legendary ADR glory in the latest behind-the-scenes video shared by Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy, which you can watch right here:

In between every few grunts and groans, we hear a good F-bomb tossed in for good measure. Remember, those original X-Men movies Jackman starred in were all PG-13. So he didn’t get drop many curse words in them, let alone that curse word. He got to tell Charles Xavier and Magneto to “Go f— yourselves” in X-Men: First Class, true. But he really didn’t get to unleash the beast until Logan. That was his first official R-rated turn as Wolverine. So with Deadpool & Wolverine, he gets to curse like a sailor. And hey, Logan is 200 years old, he was a sailor at some point in his life, right?

All kidding aside, Hugh Jackman just proved he always goes in with full gusto when it comes to the character of Logan. Even after almost a quarter-century of playing him. This is probably why no one else has played the character in live-action besides him (Henry Cavill cameo notwithstanding). Well, except for Australian pop star Troye Sivan, who played young Logan in X-Men: Origins Wolverine way back in 2009. (There’s a bit of trivia for ya). It’s going to take someone truly special to wear those claws in the MCU when Jackman decides to retire for real.

The post Hugh Jackman Goes All-In During DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE ADR Session appeared first on Nerdist.

With Deadpool & Wolverine now in theaters for some time (if you count a couple of weekends as “some time”) cast and crew have started to feel comfortable sharing the surprise actors from the film on social media. And man, did Deadpool & Wolverine ever have a metric ton of surprise faces. Some as full-on supporting characters, and others as brief cameos. Now, they’re all finally sharing behind-the-scenes images of the making of Deadpool & Wolverine. Starting with some posts from director Shawn Levy himself.

Ryan Reynolds then shared other images of his fellow “Heroes of the Void” on social media, starting with a character just about no one expected to see again. At least played by this particular actor.

Wesley Snipes as Blade

First off, Reynolds posted some photos of himself and Wesley Snipes, who returned as Blade. The return of the OG Daywalker was a big shock to many. Mainly, because Reynolds and Snipes famously did not get along on the set of Blade: Trinity. But hey, that was twenty years ago. Ryan Reynolds now says he wants Blade to get the Logan-style send-off he deserves. They might have a better chance of happening at this point than the Mahershala Ali MCU reboot. We love Reynolds’ nickname for Snipes of “Marvel Daddy.”

Channing Tatum as Gambit

Next, Ryan Reynolds gushed about his buddy Channing Tatum finally getting to play a comic book- accurate version of Gambit. After a decade of trying to play the Cajun mutant Remy LeBeau, Tatum delivered a heartfelt and hilarious performance. Here’s hoping this is not the last we see of the X-Men’s ragin’ Cajun.

Henry Cavill as a Wolverine Variant

Another jaw-dropping surprise was former Superman Henry Cavill as a variant of Wolverine. We must say, Cavill looks perfect in the role. Although, who would he look bad as? The former Man of Steel (now Man of Adamantium?) shared a photo on his Instagram. He even joked about his Justice League mustache debacle.

Dafnee Keen as Laura/X-23

Meanwhile, Dafne Keen broke her silence about her return as Laura Kinney, a.k.a. Wolverine’s daughter X-23. She confirmed that her version of the character is not a variant. She’s just an older version of the Laura we met in Logan.

Jennifer Garner as Elektra

Although the trades spoiled her return last year, many folks still didn’t know Jennifer Garner would be back as Elektra from Daredevil and her solo spin-off film. The actress recently shared a video of herself training to get back into assassin shape for Deadpool & Wolverine, and twirling her twin sai swords.

Chris Evans as the Human Torch

And finally, via his Instagram stories, Chris Evans posted about his return to Marvel Studios….as the Human Torch, not Captain America. Anyone who saw the film could tell he had a blast playing the Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm again, unleashing a string of curse words that Steve Rogers would never.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Cast Share Behind-the-Scenes Cameo Photos appeared first on Nerdist.

When Deadpool 2 hit theaters in 2018, one character won all of our hearts. No, not Josh Brolin as Cable (although he was pretty cool). We speak of everyday, ordinary Peter, played by character actor Rob Delaney. Peter Wisdom was just a regular guy who was looking for a job when Wade Wilson was taking applicants for his new X-Force team he was putting together. The affable Peter, who had no powers or skills to speak of, instantly won Deadpool over, and joined the squad. Sadly, he died on his first mission along with most of the team. A truly tragic cinematic moment. Luckily, he got better, and returned in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Deadpool & Wolverine Gives Peter a Huge Moment

Thanks to Cable’s time travel device, which Deadpool stole, Wade was able to go back in time and undo Peter’s untimely death. Six years later in Deadpool & Wolverine, on Earth-100005, Peter and Wade are co-workers at a car dealership, living an uneventful existence together selling cars. Peter still awaits the day Wade gets back in the superhero game and keeps his old uniform in his work locker.

We see that Peter is one of the people that Wade cares about most, and he attends his birthday party early in the movie. At the end of Deadpool & Wolverine, Peter shows up to the big battle with the Deadpool Corps wearing Wade’s old costume as Peterpool, and his mere presence ends the fight. It turns out, every Deadpool across the Multiverse has a Peter of their own, and they just can’t bring themselves to harm him.

The Comic Book Inspirations for Peterpool

Peter Wisdom is basically a creation of the writers of Deadpool 2, and has no real Marvel Comics counterpart. Well, except in name that is. Peter is kind of a combination of two characters by the name of Peter from Marvel Comics. One very famous, and one pretty obscure. The first one should come as no surprise.

Peterpool Is Partially Inspired by Peter Parker/Spider-Man

In the comics, Wade Wilson has a unique friendship with the Amazing Spider-Man. (And also, a bit of a crush on him it seems). When Deadpool is thinking of giving in to his darkest impulses, it’s often Peter Parker who appeals to the better angels of his nature. And Wade usually listens. Because of various rights issues, Spider-Man couldn’t be that character in the Deadpool films. So a substitute Peter had to be created. Although we sincerely hope one day (In Secret Wars perhaps?) we finally see Deadpool and the real Spidey share the screen together. The universe owes us Ryan Reynolds and Tom Holland trading quips and annoying everyone.

Peterpool’s Comic Book Namesake Is X-Men Hero Pete Wisdom

The less-famous comic book hero Peter is based on is a mutant hero from the ’90s named Pete Wisdom. He couldn’t have less in common with Deadpool & Wolverine’s Peter if he tried, outside of his name. In the comics, Pete Wisdom is a snarky, dry-witted British MI13 agent and occult expert, meant as a bit of a riff on DC’s John Constantine. Like Constantine, they often show him with a cigarette in his mouth and wearing a trenchcoat. He became involved with the British X-Men team Excalibur, and even dated Kitty Pryde for a brief time. His mutant power involved throwing energy blades, which he called his “hot knives,” from his fingertips. So in a sense, he was also a British version of Gambit. Pete Wisdom would later join X-Force, so in that sense, he has something in common with his cinematic namesake.

Peter’s Future in the MCU

Ultimately, the Peter Wisdom in the Deadpool films is his own unique creation, borrowing only superficial elements from the comics. We just know that we love Rob Delaney in the role, and wherever Deadpool goes next, we hope Peter is right behind him. We think he’d have himself a good old time on Battleworld in Avengers: Secret Wars when the time comes.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’S Peter Is a Combination of 2 Peters from Marvel Comics appeared first on Nerdist.

In Deadpool & Wolverine, Wade Wilson tells Logan “You were an X-Man. You were THE X-Man.” But despite his association with mutant heroes, Wolverine’s first appearance was actually in the pages of The Incredible Hulk #181. That issue hit the stands in the summer of 1974. Since then, Wolverine and the Hulk have fought several times, always beating each other to a virtual standstill. Healing factors mean neither character can really stay injured for long. Their rivalry was so legendary, there is even an animated film, Hulk vs., which spends half its runtime on the Hulk fighting Wolverine. And now, even Deadpool & Wolverine has teased this fight, if only ever so briefly.

Because of various rights issues, for years, the two characters could never tussle on screen in live-action. But now, it’s finally possible. Deadpool & Wolverine teased their epic battle, when Wade goes timeline-hopping looking for a Wolverine to save his reality. He finds a Logan ready to battle the Hulk, before (sadly) moving on to another universe. Knowing fans have been dying to see Wolverine fight Hulk for decades and then not letting us see it as it was about to start was the ultimate tease. (That was mean, Feige!) Might they just be waiting for the right moment to give us the full fight? It’s one of Marvel’s longest-standing feuds, one with a long comic book history.

The Comic Book History of Wolverine vs. the Hulk

Wolverine first appeared as a Canadian hero sent to take down the Jade Giant by Canada’s Department H. Department H was Canada’s agency monitoring superhumans, and needed someone to take Hulk down when he crossed the border. At first, Hulk thought Logan was a friend. But things quickly changed, creating an animosity that’s lasted fifty years began. That was but the first of many fights between the two, across many different realities.

Over the past fifty years, we’ve witnessed Hulk and Logan tussle many times as “Old Man Logan” and the Maestro, Hulk’s evil future self. We also saw Wolverine take on Worldbreaker Hulk during the events of World War Hulk. In the Ultimate Universe, Hulk literally ripped Logan in half. (It was pretty gruesome). Every few years, these two mega-popular characters take a crack at each other. It’s now a Marvel Comics tradition.

The Incredible Hulk #340 Is Wolverine and Hulk’s Most Iconic Fight

Yet aside from their original meeting, their most famous battle occurred in The Incredible Hulk #340. That issue, illustrated by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane early in his career, had Logan fight the Hulk when he was in his slightly less powerful Gray Hulk incarnation. During this era, Hulk was going by the name Mr. Fixit, a Las Vegas enforcer. His personality wasn’t that of a savage beast, but he wasn’t the intellectual Bruce Banner either. Logan goes into his “berserker rage” while fighting Hulk in this issue, attacking him more savagely than ever before. The cover, with Hulk reflected in Wolverine’s claws, is one of Marvel’s most iconic covers ever, replicated for posters and t-shirts, and now Deadpool & Wolverine.

As Deadpool & Wolverine pointed out, during this epic fight, Wolverine was wearing his brown and tan costume, designed by Uncanny X-Men artist John Byrne in 1981. The film teases this epic battle, even showing the moment when the Hulk’s face is reflected in Logan’s adamantium claws. But then Wade leaves this timeline, and fans were robbed of seeing this iconic fight in live-action. At least for now. At least we got a brief glimpse of Hugh Jackman in that iconic costume. But it certainly left fans wanting more.

Could Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars Finally Give Fans a Wolverine vs. Hulk Battle?

Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige knows how badly fans have been wanting to see Logan and Hulk fight in live-action. There’s almost no way he doesn’t deliver on this tease at some point. Most likely in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars. Hopefully, Mark Ruffalo will be in his savage Hulk persona when he fights Wolverine. No shade against Professor Hulk, but it’s much more fun seeing Logan pop his claws against Hulk when he’s a being of pure rage. It’s unlikely that Marvel fans are going to see the fight in Deadpool & Wolverine play out. But one day, Logan and Bruce are going to come to blows on screen. Here’s hoping it’s as epic as when Deadpool and Wolverine finally got to kick the tar out of each other.

The post How DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Teased One of Marvel Comics’ Greatest Ongoing Rivalries appeared first on Nerdist.

Deadpool & Wolverine was a true Reynolds family affair. Three of Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s children appeared on screen in the film in various cameo roles. They join both parents, with Blake Lively herself as none other than Lady Deadpool. But one of the Reynolds children had a special credit in the film, even if she did not appear on camera. According to Entertainment Weekly, the superstar couple’s 4-year-old daughter Betty gets a “Special Thanks” in the credits as “Hugh Jackman Wrangler: Betty Reynolds.” But what exactly is a Hugh Jackman Wrangler, and what does the job entail? We don’t know exactly, but Reynolds did drop some hints earlier this year in People Magazine.

I don’t profess that my kids are perfectly behaved. My 4-year-old Betty sort of loves Hugh, like, unconditionally, and she expresses that love through unblinking violence. So she attacks him, thinking she has claws and he has a healing factor — which he might.”

It’s somehow adorably perfect that Ryan Reynolds’ 4-year-old child shows her affection for Hugh Jackman in the same way her dad does—by attacking him mercilessly. Like father like daughter? We can only hope she calls him all kinds of names when she beats up Hugh. As for the other Reynolds kids, they all appeared on screen in some capacity. Two even joined their mother Blake as members of the Deadpool Corps.

7-year-old Inez Reynolds appears as the junior Deadpool variant Kidpool. (Whether or not someone else dubbed in her raunchy dialogue is currently unknown). Meanwhile, her 1-year-old brother, Olin, appears as the adorable little Babypool, who claps for Deadpool and Wolverine after the big third-act fight, the bloody bodies of his fellow Deadpools lying around him. Lastly, Ryan’s 9-year-old daughter James Reynolds has a credit on IMDb for her role as a “Screaming Mutant.” We’ll just have to freeze-frame the movie to find her when Deadpool & Wolverine finally hits streaming.

The post Ryan Reynolds’ 4-Year-Old Daughter Has a Special DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Screen Credit appeared first on Nerdist.

Deadpool & Wolverine is very much a raunchy love letter to the Twentieth Century Fox Marvel Universe. It contains appearances from characters from the 2005 Fantastic Four, 2003’s Daredevil, and more. Not to mention, ancillary mutant characters that never actually got to appear in an X-Men film. Yes, we’re talkin’ about you, Channing Tatum as Gambit. But with that heartfelt goodbye for the bygone era of Fox films, where were the actual main X-Men? Aside from stock footage in the credits, we never see a single one of them. Could it be that their conspicuous absence is an indication that we’re bound to still see them one more time?

There Were No A-List Fox X-Men Living in the Void in Deadpool & Wolverine

In Deadpool & Wolverine, there are many characters from the X-Men movies populating the Void, under the thumb of Cassandra Nova. There’s Juggernaut, Azazel from X-Men: First Class, and Lady Deathstrike from X2. Perhaps most notably, Pyro from X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand. But Logan actually name-drops Charles Xavier several times, not to mention Magneto, Cyclops, Storm, Jean Grey, and Beast. So it’s rather shocking none of them came back to put a period on the end of their 25-year sentence. Because if Kevin Feige felt the need to give Aaron Standford’s Pyro and Jennifer Garner’s Elektra a proper ending, surely he must feel the same way about the cast of X-Men. Especially as 2000’s X-Men was his very first Marvel screen credit.

The Original X-Men Actors Could Play All-New Variants in Secret Wars

Our prevailing theory is that Deadpool & Wolverine is indeed the fond farewell to Earth-10005 (the newly designated timeline of the Fox X-Men films), but not the last we’ll see of the original cast of the X-Men films. After all, why bring back Kelsey Grammer as Beast/Hank McCoy at the end of The Marvels, in a scene inside the X-Mansion no less, if you’re never going to pay that off? We suspect the original X-Men actors will return, as variants in yet another unexplored timeline with mutants in them. It’s just that these mutants will look very familiar, as their original actors will play them once more.

The Original X-Men Actors Might Still Play Their Original Versions

However, the Fox X-Men timeline that Wade and Logan saved from pruning by the Time-Ripper, Earth-10005, might still be the same one these X-Men from The Marvels come from. We’re going to have to do a bit of mutant math here. The “restored” happier timeline of Days of Future Past takes place in 2023. We also know the “Westchester Incident,” where an elder Charles Xavier accidentally killed 600 people, including most of the X-Men, takes place in 2028. One year later, in 2029, the events of Logan occur. There is some wiggle room for those very same X-Men to appear.

The Confusing Timeline of X-Men’s Earth-10005

Deadpool & Wolverine takes place in 2024. Meaning that Earth-10005’s version of the X-Men are all alive and happy right now. It also means that this world has two Wolverines running around. There’s the one hanging with Deadpool and friends, and the one currently with the X-Men who will eventually die in Logan. So while we might see the X-Men of Earth-10005 in Secret Wars, it would mean they won’t suffer the events of Logan, undoing that movie. We know, these X-Men timelines are super confusing. So, it is probably easier for everyone involved to go with a brand-new timeline. But it is possible Kevin Feige simply uses Earth-10005 and calls it a day.

Classic X-Men Actors Have All Hinted at a Return

Aside from the return of Grammer as Beast, there’s other evidence to suggest that the MCU has plans for the original X-Men cast for one last go-round. Patrick Stewart has hinted toward yes when asked about coming back as Professor X. Now, he wasn’t in Deadpool & Wolverine, but that doesn’t mean he won’t return for something else coming down the line. Other actors being very evasive when asked about a potential X-Men return include James Marsden, Famke Janssen, and Halle Berry. Now we know that their possible return was not for Deadpool & Wolverine. So we have to assume something else is in the works.

We feel that Avengers: Secret Wars is the only logical place for these characters to return for their final farewell. If Battleword is composed of the leftovers of other realities, as in the Secret Wars comics, then one of those must be a reality with the X-Men in it. If Hugh Jackman returns as Logan, he should make his true last stand with his original X-Men teammates. We’re talking Patrick Stewart as Xavier, James Marsden as Cyclops, Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, Anna Paquin as Rogue, Shawn Ashmore as Iceman, and Kelsey Grammer as Beast. Heck, why not throw in Channing Tatum as Gambit, and complete the X-Men; The Animated Series roster in live-action? Of course, just like Logan, they’d have to all finally wear something that’s a semblance of their classic comic book costumes. That alone will be worth the price of admission.

The post Could DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’S Absent X-Men Hint at an AVENGERS: SECRET WARS Return? appeared first on Nerdist.

Deadpool & Wolverine introduced an all-new concept to the multiverse. Logan‘s Wolverine was an “anchor being” whose heroic sacrifice sent his entire timeline on a path of natural annihilation. Wade Wilson and “the best” Wolverine managed to reverse Earth-10005’s destruction and save it, but no one at the TVA knows exactly how they managed to do that. They better figure it out soon, though. Otherwise the entire multiverse might collapse. The movie raised an obvious question with potentially huge ramifications for the franchise’s prime universe, Earth-616: Was Tony Stark the MCU’s anchor being?

One of the best things about Deadpool & Wolverine is that it didn’t worry about canon, timelines, or even internal logic. But Marvel Studios certainly does care about all of those things, and the MCU will need to make sense of the movie’s most intriguing-yet-illogical concepts if they come up again. And none of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s ideas are as important as anchor beings. None are as inherently confusing, either.

Matthew Macfayden’s rogue TVA agent Paradox told Wade Wilson that an anchor being “is an entity of such vital importance that when they die their whole world slowly withers out of existence.” In Earth-10005’s universe Logan was that entity. His death put the entire universe on a path of self-destruction. That would have taken roughly 2,000 years, a fate Paradox planned to speed up with a time ripper.

The existence of anchor beings worked just fine for Deadpool & Wolverine‘s purposes, but they raise issues for the MCU at large. The most obvious is that Wolverine was never immortal. He was always going to die at some point, which would means his universe was always doomed. Plus, if every anchor being’s death leads to their world’s death, every single timeline is always destined for self-destruction. (Unless it has an immortal anchor being.)

That’s if you accept an anchor being’s death should even matter at all. As the TVA has shown, universes exist on a time loop. Essentially those entities are both always alive and always dead. Why should it matter “when” they die?

The only way to explain any of that is by focusing on the nature of Logan’s death and what we learned about the nature of the Sacred Timeline from Loki.

Paradox described the self-sacrifice of Earth-10005’s Wolverine’s as “so epic that it sent shivers down the timeline.” Logan’s death was apparently so heroic and so powerful his timeline couldn’t handle the aftershock of what he’d done. It responded by slowly imploding on itself. That’s exactly why how he died is what matters, not merely that he died.

The TVA never discussed any of this previously, but the agency has gone deep on an equivalent calamity. We’ve witnessed universes exploding via chaotic branching that threatened the entire Sacred Timeline. That happens because a special Variant in that universe causes a Nexus Event.

Why do some Variants cause Nexus Events while others don’t? The TVA has never explained this (and possibly doesn’t even understand itself). Sylvie spent her whole life not knowing why the Time Variance Authority wanted to send her to the Void. All we know—and all that has ever mattered—is that a Nexus-causing Variant’s very existence is an existential threat to their universe. Same as an anchor being’s death.

Those are two different sides of the same coin. A specific life can causes a universe to explode and a specific death can cause a universe to implode. But only if that death is so powerful it acts as a reverse Nexus event.

You know, the exact kind of death Tony Stark had on Earth-616. The central universe on the Sacred Timeline, the one that holds the entire multiverse together, was only saved when Iron Man, a father, husband, friend, and hero, gave up his life. And just like Wolverine was “the X-Man” in Fox’s cinematic universe, Tony Stark was “the Avenger” in his, where he launched the entire franchise.

If anyone is/was/will prove to be Earth-616’s anchor being, it’s the late Tony Stark. And if he was, that means the universe he gave his life to protect is now slowly dying because of his sacrifice. And it will die unless Hunter B-15 and the rest of the TVA can figure out how Deadpool and Wolverine saved Earth-10005. Until they do that most sacred universe is also vulnerable to other threats, just as Deadpool’s was to Paradox’s schemes.

So was Tony Stark the MCU’s anchor being? Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige is glad fans are already asking that question. Why wouldn’t he be? Deadpool & Wolverine didn’t care about the logic of anchor beings, but the rest of franchise will. And with Robert Downey Jr. set to return to the MCU as Victor Von Doom, the death of Tony Stark has never been more important to the future of the entire multiverse.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist happy to be on summer break from MCU homework. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Was Tony Stark the MCU’s ‘Anchor Being’? appeared first on Nerdist.

If you graduated anything circa late oughts to early 2010s, then there’s likely one very memorable chord progression that sticks out in your head. Perhaps a soft-spoken “f*ck” that was probably cut out of the slideshow of your friends and family which illuminated the big screen as you prepared to move on to the next chapter of your life. Yes, we’re talking about Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” the song that became the defacto anthem for the closing of one book and the opening of another. Well, in Deadpool & Wolverine‘s emotional tribute montage, which plays during the credits of the movie, the nostalgic song denoted exactly that. As Deadpool & Wolverine‘s end credits sequence paid homage to what came before it, Millenials everywhere were taken back to every meaningful ending/beginning in their lives. Well played, Marvel Studios.

Typically, when one enters the credits of a Marvel Studios movie, they expect a tease of what’s to come in the MCU’s future. But the montage of scenes that played during the end credits of Deadpool & Wolverine looked instead to the past, to the legacy of the 20th Century Fox X-Men and other Marvel movies. As mentioned, the dulcet tones of Green Day’s hit “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” teamed up with scenes from the 20th Century Fox X-Men and Marvel movies themselves, as well as behind-the-scenes looks and other featurettes, to create a truly emotional sendoff for the films that arguably began the modern era of superhero movies. There’s nothing like an end credits slideshow to make us sob, and Deadpool & Wolverine‘s really got us.

20th Century Fox’s X-Men was first released in 2000; that’s an incredible two decades ago. And, as the tribute montage in Deadpool & Wolverine‘s end credits suggests, we couldn’t have made it to this point without it. The 20th Century Fox X-Men and Marvel movies weren’t all hits. Some of them were sheer brilliance. Others were flops. But for a whole generation of nerds, they were the movies we grew up with. And there’s a place in our hearts they’ll always hold. Regardless of the quality of each specific movie or character, the 20th Century Fox entries in the superhero world gave us performances and moments that absolutely stand the test of time. And that’s why seeing different hallmarks of the films return in Deadpool & Wolverine was so powerful and so satisfying.

But, of course, as the use of Green Day in Deadpool & Wolverine‘s credits montage suggests, that era of the 20th Century Fox Marvel movies has come to a close. In welcoming these characters into the MCU to live another day, Marvel Studios also gave them their endings. Save for a potential few that might cross from one universe into another in a new form; this chapter has ended. As with all graduations, it leaves a bittersweet taste in our mouths. But at least we can always revisit the end credits of Deadpool & Wolverine and feel all the beautifully painful feelings that saying goodbye to the 20th Century Fox gang left us with.

So thank you, 20th Century Fox Marvel movies; we indeed had the time of our lives.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s Credit Tribute Montage Was Designed to Make Millenials Cry appeared first on Nerdist.

If there’s one thing Wolverine is known for, it’s his adamantium claws. If there’s a second thing, it’s his sideburns. Third is probably his mutant healing powers. Or maybe it’s his anger issues? Look, the point is people know a lot about the iconic X-Men character. That includes how he has his very own meme known as the Sad Wolverine Meme. The World Wide Web has had a lot of fun over the years adapting that famous image of the character lying in bed wistfully looking at a framed photo. Now Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds have helped Marvel Studios make that very funny Sad Wolverine meme moment a reality.

Deadpool & Wolverine‘s titular stars helped celebrate the film’s bonkers opening box office with a little internet silliness. First, Marvel Studios shared a photo on social media of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine recreating his comic counterpart’s infamous moment of reflection. Only instead of looking at a photo that makes him sad in this live-action Sad Wolverine meme recreation, Logan was actually looking at something that should make him very happy. The picture notes his movie is the #1 film in the world.

Marvel then followed that up with Deadpool’s own, fittingly meta version of the Sad Wolverine meme. He’s lying in bed looking at a picture of the original posts of Wolverine bringing the meme to life.

But if you like this recreation of the Sad Wolverine meme, you can now join in the fun yourself. All you have to do is take a photo of Deadpool’s photo, frame it, and then look at it while lying in bed, Sad Wolverine style. Just don’t be surprised if Deadpool appears to annoy you about it later. You never know when he’ll decide to break the fourth wall.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds Recreated the ‘Sad Wolverine’ Meme appeared first on Nerdist.

Wade Wilson’s official introduction to the MCU in Deadpool & Wolverine came via a door to the TVA. Matthew Macfadyen’s Paradox tried to recruit the Merc With a Mouth to join the Avengers since Deadpool’s home universe was dying. Even though Deadpool’s world was fading away naturally, the Time Variance Authority agent was trying to speed up its demise with an unsanctioned plan. Why was that world going to vanish in the first place? And why did Paradox want to destroy it immediately? The film revealed new information about the TVA and the multiverse that could have major implications for the MCU going forward.

What Is an MCU “Anchor Being?”

Paradox told Wade the Wolverine of Logan—the one who sacrificed himself to save X-23 and other mutant children—was an anchor being. That’s an entirely new concept for the franchise.

An anchor being is “an entity of such vital importance that when they die their whole world slowly withers out of existence.” Logan lived on Earth-10005, the same universe Wade calls home.

With Deadpool’s universe set to vanish out of existence (eventually), Paradox’s superiors had instructed him to try and recruit that specific, special Merc With a Mouth to join the Avengers of Earth-616, the prime MCU universe. Only, Wade wasn’t going to let his universe die without a fight. That led him to seek out a replacement Logan to serve as his world’s anchor being.

What Did Deadpool & Wolverine Reveal About the Current TVA and Sacred Timeline?

The slow destruction of Earth-10005 revealed that, despite Loki rearranging the Sacred Timeline into the Tree of Life, entire branches of existence can still vanish. As Paradox explained, an anchor being dying in extraordinary fashion “is how a reality dies.” He also laughed at Wade’s replacement plan. You can’t simply replace an anchor being with a Variant.

However, unlike the old TVA under He Who Remains, the TVA no longer prunes branches, not even ones dying naturally. New TVA boss Hunter B-15 had tasked Paradox and his team with overseeing Earth-10005 during its slow demise. That would happen over roughly two thousand years.

The disgruntled TVA agent was not okay with waiting that long. Paradox yearned for agency’s former cold, brutal efficiency. He wanted to speed up the death of Earth-10005. For that he needed a time ripper.

What Is a TVA Time Ripper and How Does it Work?

A Time Ripper is a powerful machine made up of many Reset Charges. Those small devices, as seen on Loki, can “prune the affected radius of a branched timeline, allowing time to heal all its wounds.” The God of Mischief noted that’s a polite way of saying a Reset Charge can “disintegrate everything in its vicinity.”

A Time Ripper consists of many Reset Charges and can destroy an entire timeline in a flash. Paradox thought that was a far more merciful (and personally less taxing) method compared to a universe slowly decaying. But with the TVA outlawing the machine, thanks to its new no-pruning policy, Paradox had to build his own. That took time and resources, because a Time Ripper also requires a tremendous amount of energy that draws on both matter and antimatter.

When Cassandra Nova escaped the Void, she planned on using that Time Ripper to destroy every universe on the Sacred Timeline. Deadpool and Wolverine were able to combine their powers to overcome her tremendous strength, destroying both the machine and Nova in the process. And that’s not all they did.

What Did Paradox’s Secret Plan in Deadpool & Wolverine Reveal About the New TVA?

Paradox ultimately failed to destroy Earth-10005, but he showed it’s still possible for rogue agents to covertly undermine the TVA and annihilate entire universes. The organization, like all any workplace, is still susceptible to unhappy employees with their own agenda and ideas how things should work.

The Sacred Timeline still needs protecting, including from some people at the Time Variance Authority. Fortunately good people like Hunter B-15 are now in charge and focused on saving world rather than destroying them.

More important than Paradox’s failure was Deadpool’s success. Him and Wolverine not only stopped Nova, they healed Earth-10005. After the Time Ripper exploded that entire universe began to heal itself. It’s no longer going to die of natural causes. Wade’s world, which now has “the best” Wolverine calling it home, will continue existing forever. Hunter B-15 didn’t totally understand how that worked, but she said the TVA will investigate.

Earth-616 might need her report sooner than later.

Did Earth-616 Also Lose Its Anchor Being When Iron Man Died?

Paradox said Logan‘s Wolverine’s death was “an act of self-sacrifice so epic that it sent shivers down the timeline,” setting the universe on a path of self-destruction. That immediately raised a major question about the MCU’s own world, Earth-616.

That world also saw its greatest hero—the one who anchored the entire franchise much like Wolverine did Fox’s X-Men movies—give up his life in an epic act of self-sacrifice. Tony Stark died saving the entire universe from Thanos in Avengers: Endgame.

Was he is Earth-616’s anchor being? Is it now slowly dying because he gave up his life? And if it is, what can the Avengers learn from Deadpool and Wolverine’s team-up? Those are all huge questions the film raised. And those were fair question before Marvel Studios announced Robert Downey Jr. is returning not as Iron Man, but as Victor Von Doom. Could Victor’s story have something to do with Tony Stark being an anchor being? Will Deadpool & Wolverine end up explaining the two seeming Variants connection? It might. And if you think fans are reading too much into that possibility, Kevin Feige is very happy they are.

Deadpool & Wolverine brought two of Fox’s greatest superheroes to the MCU. They mgiht have shown up just in time to save their new franchise’s timeline just like they saved their old one’s.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who has spent a lot of his life thinking about the TVA. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s Revelations About the TVA Could Change the MCU Forever appeared first on Nerdist.

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have had great ventures together. We’ve seen them unfold on the popular series Welcome to Wrexham. And now, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s Rob McElhenney will join Reynolds in Deadpool & Wolverine. In the latest episode of Welcome to Wrexham, which we saw via The News, Reynolds revealed, “Because of my busy schedule, I had to invite my cochair, Rob McElhenney, to the set of Deadpool in London to discuss all things that are Wrexham… And, yes, I did have to promise him a role in the upcoming Deadpool film. Now, I can’t necessarily tell you which character Rob plays in Deadpool for fear of being shot down by the Marvel drone that follows me and my kids around.” Deadpool & Wolverine is slated to have many cameos, and we can now count McElhenney in their number.

On the film’s release day, Rob McElhenney shared a photo of himself alongside Hugh Jackman from behind-the-scenes, saying he traveled 6,000 miles to be in Deadpool & Wolverine.

I traveled 6 thousand miles to shoot my cameo. I hope you enjoyed it because the theater I was watching in had mistakenly cut it out. Since I KNOW Ryan wouldn’t do me like that, I look forward to catching the movie and my cameo again today! #DeadpoolandWolverine pic.twitter.com/0yhZqLuiLz

— Rob McElhenney (@RMcElhenney) July 26, 2024

In the episode, Rob McElhenney couldn’t reveal his outfit because it would be a tease of his Deadpool & Wolverine role. “It’s super comfortable making superhero movies,” McElhenney noted. To which Reynolds snarked, “Thanks for doing a cameo. … For the record, Rob has never asked me to be on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Mythic Quest or his podcast or any of his other multimedia ventures.”

But what role will McElhenney actually play in Deadpool & Wolverine? That remains a mystery. Although, we might be inclined to say a TVA agent.

The post Rob McElhenney Will Cameo in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, Reveals Ryan Reynolds appeared first on Nerdist.

Deadpool & Wolverine is a delightfully dirty superhero movie with multiversal mishaps. It’s also a very clever commentary on the transience of franchise movies. What happens to the characters in an aborted cinematic universe? As such, the movie features a plethora of cameos from versions of characters we know from previous films, most of whom don’t have a home anymore. And some never had a home to begin with. One particular Deadpool & Wolverine cameo made a 10-year promise a hilarious reality.

When Deadpool and Wolverine end up in the Void, they meet a number of variants and characters from pruned universes. Among these are characters like X-23, Elektra, and Johnny Storm. But one character, and more specifically one actor, who shows up is none other than Channing Tatum, finally playing Gambit. For those who don’t know, Tatum had been 20th Century Fox’s choice to play Gambit in the X-Men universe from 2006. Initially, he wanted to do it but was unavailable. Eventually Gambit did appear, with Taylor Kitsch’s less-than-popular turn in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

All the way back in 2014, producer Lauren Shuler Donner signed Tatum to play Gambit for Fox in a solo movie. Presumably, once that movie was a hit, he’d eventually join the rest of the X-Men. Almost immediately after the agreement, the project went into development hell. Directors like Rise of the Planet of the Apes‘ Rupert Wyatt, The Bourne Identity‘s Doug Liman, and Pirates of the Caribbean‘s Gore Verbinski all signed on to direct at various points. Tatum and producing partner Reid Carolin also lobbied to direct.

Tatum was introduced on stage at the 2015 Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con. That panel also debuted teasers for both X-Men: Apocalypse and the first Deadpool. That’s how gosh-darn long ago it was. The project had been on the books for Fox every year after. Disney canned the movie officially when they bought 20th Century in 2019. But even as recently as 2022, Tatum said he’d still like the chance to play Remy LeBeau.

Tatum in Deadpool & Wolverine represents the culmination of the actor’s entire career. Certainly not in heft or resonance, but just in time spent. He wears the comic-accurate Gambit costume, talks in a ridiculously over the top Cajun accent, and makes several references to never being outside the Void. It’s not only an awesome character to have in a big fight scene, but for people who’ve wanted a Tatum Gambit movie for decades, it’s a lovely sigh of relief.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

The post One DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Surprise Cameo Was 15 Years in the Making appeared first on Nerdist.

In Deadpool & Wolverine, one sequence finds Wade Wilson having to travel to different timelines to find a replacement Logan for the one from his world that died. And this leads to many hilarious scenes of Logan variants from across the Multiverse, most of which are direct Marvel Comics references… and maybe even a DC reference in a way. Here are all the Logan variants we spotted in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Old Man Logan

Old Man Logan, by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, is one of the greatest Wolverine stories ever. Set in a dystopian future (somehow Wolverine always lands in those), it showed the grizzled former X-Man living alone on a ranch with a signature trench coat and cowboy hat as his go-to look. We see this version pull out his shotgun and blow Deadpool away, not wanting him on his lawn anymore.

Comics-Accurate (a.k.a. Short) Wolverine

One of the biggest changes from the comics to the character of Wolverine in film? Back in 2000 when they cast Hugh Jackman, his Logan was actually tall. In the comics, Wolverine is canonically about 5 foot 3, maybe 5 foot 4. He’s just a lil’ guy. We finally meet “comics-accurate” Wolverine in one of the alt timelines. At last, we get to see what Jackman would look like with a few inches taken off the top.

Brown and Tan Costume Wolverine

Most people know Logan’s yellow costume from the comics and X-Men: The Animated Series. But he had another long-lived costume that’s almost as iconic. From 1980-1991, Logan wore a brown and tan costume in the pages of Uncanny X-Men. We see Logan wear this costume for a fight with the Hulk, a fight we were cruelly snatched away from. The Hulk/Logan rivalry goes back to 1974, in Wolverine’s first appearance. The costume was designed by Canadian artist John Bryne, who got a shout-out from Deadpool.

Age of Apocalypse Wolverine

Age of Apocalypse was an X-Men event comic from the mid-’90s. It took place on a dystopian alternate timeline in which the ancient mutant Apocalypse ruled the Earth. All our favorite X-Men characters got very ’90s redesigns for this event, most especially Wolverine/Weapon X. In this world, Logan was missing a hand, wore a navy blue leotard, and was sporting the wildest hair you’d ever seen. Hugh Jackman’s Age of Apocalypse version of Weapon X is spot-on, right down to the ridiculous hairdo.

“Patch”

In one universe, Deadpool finds Logan at a casino, in a James Bond-esque white suit and bowtie. He sported an eye patch, looking rather dapper. This is a direct reference to Logan’s time in the island nation of Madripoor, where he used the alias “Patch.” (You know, because he wore an eye patch). The Patch alias came about back in the late ’80s. This was because, at the time, Wolverine was supposedly dead to the world and he thought an eyepatch would be his disguise. Hey, wearing glasses worked for Clark Kent, right?

Henry Cavill “Motorcycle Wolverine”

Speaking of Clark Kent, Henry Cavill himself shows up as a Wolverine variant, looking just as sexy as Logan as he did as the Man of Steel. Actually, as Logan, he’s still a “man of steel” in a way. The gag of this scene is just “Hey, it’s Superman, but he’s Wolverine!” But this Logan in a white tank top working on a motorcycle is also a reference to a Hasbro Marvel Legends action figure. The comics got representation, so why not the toys?

Crucified Logan

It’s one of the most iconic Wolverine comic book images ever. It’s an image of a broken Logan, crucified to a giant cross in the shape of an ‘X,” over a giant pile of skulls. It’s actually the (metal as hell) cover of 1989’s Uncanny X-Men #251, where Wolverine fought off the cyborg Reavers (who you may remember from Logan). We’re not sure why this Logan variant played by Hugh Jackman is on a cross, but we bet artist Marc Silvestri is very, very proud.

The post Here Are All The Logan Variants in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE appeared first on Nerdist.

Deadpool & Wolverine delivered a fond farewell to Fox’s era of X-Men and Marvel movies, but it needed some help from MCU stars to say goodbye. Who helped Wade and Logan make the big screen move over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Here is every MCU character who appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Happy Hogan (and a Picture of Tony Stark)

In 2018, Wade Wilson left his universe of Earth-10005 and traveled to the MCU’s (pre-Snap) prime universe, Earth-616. He was there applying for a job with the Avengers, but he didn’t get to meet with the still-alive Tony Stark. Wade interviewed Jon Favreau’s “Avengers adjacent” Happy Hogan. The former chauffeur-turned-head of security didn’t think Wade was quite ready for the job. That soft-rejection sent Wade into a funk that contributed to his breakup with Vanessa. Meanwhile, we’re left to wonder if Deadpool got the job if he could have helped stopped Thanos from acquiring all the Infinity Stones and dusting half of that universe.

Notably the scene included a memorable picture of Tony Stark with Peter Parker, but Tom Holland’s image was obscured. Disney bought 20th Century Studios, not Sony.

Footage of the Six Original MCU Avengers

Deadpool saw all of the original Avengers on monitors in the TVA. The footage came from the team in action during the Battle of New York along with other famous moments from their own lives/films. Their heroics were a big part of Paradox’s pitch to Deadpool to go along with his devious plan.

The one future “clip” Wade was not supposed to see playing was the one that had him—and us—most intrigued by Paradox’s offer.

Thor

Apparently in the future an emotional Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) will hold a dying Deadpool in his arms. (In a scene that looks like an absurd Asgardian play.)

Uh…what? When? HOW!? Wade Wilson really wanted to know, and he made reference to that futur a couple more times in the movie. Unfortunately it was, at best, just a tease. It might ultimately prove to be merely a fun gag. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t an actual sign the MCU has plans for a future Deadpool/Thor team-up. We don’t work at the TVA so we don’t know.

Hulk

During his search through the multiverse for a replacement Wolverine, Deadpool found one seemingly engaged in one of the most iconic fights in comic book history: Wolverine vs. Hulk. Unfortunately that for Wade and all of us, we didn’t get to see that epic showdown. The shirtless, feral Incredible Hulk paused his fight with the “John Byrne Wolverine” so he could throw Deadpool back through the TVA doorway.

Hulk not smash. Hulk evict.

Hunter B-15

Paradox and his team had to work on their Time Ripper machine in secret because the new head of the TVA runs things a lot differently than the old one. Loki‘s Hunter B-15 is now in charge at the Time Variance Authority. After Loki season two it no longer condones the pruning of branches, even those destined for a natural destruction.

Deadpool & Wolverine marked Wunmi Mosaku’s debut in an MCU film. Her Hunter B-15 had previously only appeared on the Disney+ show.

Alioth

The film featured the big screen debut of another character introduced on Loki, the Void’s memorable monster Alioth. That terrifying storm beast is still eating up Variants sent to that realm outside of time and space. Only Deadpool & Wolverine revealed it’s possible to negotiate with Alioth. It left Cassandra Nova and her fortress alone so long as she provided Alioth with “food.”

The Dead Giant Body of Ant-Man

Deadpool was wrong, right? The dead giant body of Ant-Man that Cassandra Nova called home means Paul Rudd stopped aging. No one gets older when they’re dead.

Obviously Scott Lang has looked better.

Steve Rogers…’ Fiery Variant Johnny Storm

One of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s biggest surprises was the return of Chris Evans to the MCU. Only, he wasn’t playing a Variant of his MCU character like Wade first thought. (Which the film also wanted us to think.) Instead Evans played a Variant of his original Marvel superhero character, Johnny Storm from the Fantastic Four.

Considering he looked exactly like Earth-616’s Steve Rogers, we think it’s safe to assume he’s a Variant of the original Captain America and therefore worthy of being on this list. That might be a technicality, but what are you going to do about it? Rip off all our skin and turn us into a mush of blood and bones?

….Please don’t.

The post Every MCU Character Who Appears in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE appeared first on Nerdist.

The big final battle of Deadpool & Wolverine features Wade and Logan going up against a literal army of Deadpool variants, known in the comics as “the Deadpool Corps.” In fact, almost all of these variants are straight from the pages of Marvel Comics. Although we spotted dozens, these are the members of the Deadpool Corps that stood out the most to us in Shawn Levy’s film.

Lady Deadpool

Let’s get the big one out of the way first—Lady Deadpool. No, she’s not Taylor Swift, or Madonna (despite that ponytail). She’s voiced by Ryan Reynolds’ wife Blake Lively, but we never see her take her mask off. Born Wanda Wilson, Lady Deadpool, as the name suggests, is a female counterpart of Deadpool from the Earth-3010 reality. On her Earth, she fought as a soldier in a Second American Civil War. She met her sad demise in Deadpool Kills Deadpool #3 in 2013. But she lives on as part of the Deadpool Corps in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Dogpool

Clearly, the star of the variant Deadpools is Dogpool. The mangy little mutt hailed from Earth-103173, and was known just as Wilson. He first appeared in Prelude to Deadpool Corps #3 in 2010, and then died tragically in Deadpool Kills Deadpool #1 back in 2013. Just like the human Wade Wilson of Earth-616, he was experimented on and gained superpowers. He joined the circus, where they gave him the name Dogpool. The Earth-616 Deadpool recruited him into the Deadpool Corps

Kidpool

The pre-pubescent version of Wade Wilson, better known as Kidpool, hails from Earth-10330, where he lived in Xavier’s Orphanage for Troubled Boys. He had a hard time fitting in at the orphanage and was recruited by Prime Deadpool, he stole two lightsaber-style weapons from his orphanage’s version of the Danger Room, and joined the Deadpool Corps. Sadly, his young life came to an end in 2013’s Deadpool Kills Deadpool #2.

The Deadpool Kid a.k.a. Cowboy Deadpool

Cowboy Deadpool, or “the Deadpool Kid,” (Not to be confused with Kidpool) first appeared in Deadpool: Merc with the Mouth #7, as the gun slingin’ bank robber type. Our Wade Wilson from Earth-616 gets into a bit of a brawl with the Deadpool of Earth-1108, and he shoots the Deadpool Kid in the head. Being a Deadpool, however, he survives. He appears again as part of the Deadpool Corps, and dies in Deadpool Kills Deadpool #4. Matthew McConaughey voices the Deadpool Kid in the film.

Baby Deadpool

He might look adorable, but he’s deadly. Yes, there’s a Baby Deadpool. In the comics, Baby Deadpool mostly appeared on variant covers, along with other baby versions of Marvel heroes. You know you’ve made it as a pop culture icon when there’s a baby version of you. Deadpool is no different.

Ronin-Pool

Watari, a.k.a. “Ronin-Pool,” is the Deadpool of Earth-11542, a world where it is still 17th-century Japan. Introduced in the 2011 5 Ronins series, he would later join the Deadpool Corps, meeting his demise in Deadpool Kills Deadpool #4. It’s also possible this samurai Deadpool hails from Earth-346, a world where Wade Wilson travels back in time to feudal Japan, learns the ways of the samurai and becomes part of the Avengers-bankrolled Samurai Squad. He first appeared in Marvel × Shōnen Jump+ Super Collaboration #5 in 2019.

Headpool a.k.a. Zombie Deadpool

Thanks to the Marvel Zombies series, virtually every Marvel character has a slow-walking, rotting version of themselves that wants to eat your brains. Deadpool is no different. On Earth, a zombie apocalypse ravaged the entire planet. Deadpool was a victim of it too. Eventually, only the head of the zombie Deadpool survived, now named “Headpool.” He came to Earth 616 to annoy our Wade Wilson. Fun fact: Headpool was created by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman.

Golden Age Deadpool

In the big “Wolverine and Wade vs. all the Deadpools” fight, you might have noticed a Deadpool with a gas mask on. No, that’s not “World War I Soldier Deadpool,” that’s Golden Age Deadpool. Named Wheezy Wilson, he’s a spoof on 1940s superheroes, like DC Comics’ gas mask-wearing Sandman. He’s one of the very first Deadpool variants in the Deadpool Corps, introduced in 2012’s Deadpool Kills Deadpool.

Deadpool 2099

You might have spotted a Deadpool that looked like a robot in the film. However, they might not be a robot, they might be a human from the future. The year 2099, to be precise. These days, everyone knows about Spider-Man 2099, thanks to Across the Spider-Verse. Just like most famous Marvel heroes, Deadpool has a year 2099 counterpart. However, Deadpool 2099 isn’t a high-tech variant of Wade, she’s his daughter, Warda Wilson. She uses a tech suit with some very fancy futuristic weapons.

Zenpool

In the Deadpool Corps battle scene, there’s a Deadpool variant who looks a bit like Moon Knight, or maybe a character from Assassin’s Creed. In the comics, the Deadpool who looks like that isn’t actually a variant, he’s actually the “real” Wade Wilson. For a time, Wade gave up his life of violence and became something of a monk. He became “Zenpool.” Luckily for readers, the non-violent Deadpool did not last too long. But a version of him appears in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Knightpool

Created by writer Cullen Bunn, this is one of the Deadpools in the Deadpool Corps that looked like he had a job working at Medieval Times. Knight Deadpool, or Knightpool, was introduced and died in the same issue, in 2013’s Deadpool Kills Deadpool #4. We know next to nothing about this guy, not even his real name. Is it Ser Wilson?

The post Who Are DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s Many Deadpool Variants? appeared first on Nerdist.

Poor Johnny Storm. In Deadpool & Wolverine, the Human Torch Variant managed to avoid capture by Cassandra Nova’s minions until he got mixed up with Wade Wilson and Logan. The Merc with a Mouth couldn’t keep his yap shut while Nova interrogated the three superheroes. Wade made outrageous claims about horrible things Johnny called the powerful Void despot during the drive to her compound. Despite his stringent claims of innocence, she responded by ripping the Fantastic Four member’s skin right off his body. Why did Wade do it? Why would he make up such ridiculous, awful things and endanger the life of someone who just tried to help him? Deadpool & Wolverine‘s only post-credits scene showed he hadn’t. (Probably.)

So what actually happened to Chris Evans’ other Marvel superhero? Here’s what that post-credits scene revealed and why it was both meaningless and really funny.

When Deadpool met Cassandra Nova, he immediately (over)shared what Johnny Storm had supposedly told him about Charles Xavier’s evil twin. Deadpool regaled her with a vivid, highly-specific, over-the-top fountain of insults, profanities, threats, and boasts. The more Wade spoke, the more a desperate, scared Johnny promised Nova he hadn’t said any of that. He claimed his innocence right up until she turned him into a skinless mush of human meat and bones.

Why did Wade say any of that even as Wolverine told him to shut the f*** up? Why would Deadpool lie about someone who just tried to save him? He didn’t! In the Deadpool & Wolverine post-credits scene, Wade returned to the TVA to show the audience footage from that trip to Nova’s lair we didn’t get to see originally. It revealed Johnny really had said every horrible thing about Nova exactly as Wade claimed.

Was Wade lying after the fact? Had he deep-faked a Johnny video to get himself off the hook? Was the footage just more bullshit to cover up the bullshit that got the Human Torch de-skinned? The very good, very funny joke only works if Johnny really did say all those things to an idiot who wouldn’t know when to keep them private.

There’s reason beyond the humor of both scenes to believe Wade, too. Wolverine never disputed anything Deadpool told Nova. He merely recognized Wade was putting Johnny’s life in danger and tried to make him stop. Plus, it’s not exactly a stretch to think the brash, arrogant Johnny Storm might run his mouth. He just didn’t know not to do that in front of the Merc with an even bigger one.

What does this scene ultimately mean for Deadpool and the MCU? Nothing, really. This was an extra gag post-credits scene rather than one that works as MCU serialization. If you insist on a bigger meaning, though, it revealed Deadpool can still break the fourth wall even though the film closed the door on the Fox era of Marvel movies. That means he might continue to do so if he ever shows up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe agains.

That Johnny Storm just won’t be around to see what Wade Wilson does in the MCU. Hopefully other Human Torch Variants stuck around for Deadpool & Wolverine‘s post-credits scene to learn why they should keep their yap shut if they ever meet a hero with an even bigger mouth.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s Post-Credits Scene, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

Matthew Macfadyen’s Paradox made Wade Wilson an intriguing proposal in Deadpool & Wolverine. The TVA agent tried to get the Merc with a Mouth to abandon his universe by offering Deadpool something he desperately wanted: a chance to join the Avengers. That sales pitch included showing past achievements by Earth-616’s mightiest heroes. But Paradox accidentally showed Deadpool something he wasn’t supposed to see.

Deadpool wasn’t supposed to see it because it hasn’t happened yet. Deadpool saw himself gravely wounded while an emotional Thor comforted him. It was a memorable promise, one Wade himself made reference to later in the film. Only that meeting never happened. That left MCU fans with an obvious question: will Deadpool and Thor actually join forces in a future film, or was that moment nothing more than a fun gag?

There’s no way to know because Marvel Studios probably doesn’t know yet, either.

Thor and Deadpool’s possible future together in combat was brief yet revealed a lot. The two heroes appeared to have a close, personal relationship. An emotional, worried Thor was very upset at Deadpool’s condition. When that moment happens, they will already share a close bond, suggesting they will spend meaningful time together before that. How? Why? In what movie or Disney+ show? We want to know more than Wade did.

There are also questions about that short sequence itself. Where are they? (Both in terms of planets and universes.) What year will it take place? Who will they be fighting? Is that a potential scene from Secret Wars or another upcoming Avengers movie?

Will Deadpool also really be at death’s door? Maybe not. That brief footage on the TVA monitor was reminiscent of the over-the-top Asgardian plays seen in Thor films. The Merc with a Mouth and the God of Thunder might have a meaningful relationship at that point, but we might ultimately learn that moment isn’t as intense or dangerous as it seems. It might prove to be nothing more than a silly interaction between two characters known for big screen foolishness.

We do know how it was possible for Deadpool to see that interaction with a superhero he doesn’t even know. The TVA exists outside of time and space. In that realm the past, present, and future aren’t linear. They all exist at once. But that’s also why that moment might never actually happen. Things can change on the Sacred Timeline dramatically. Variants go to the Void and vanish forever. The TVA also monitors every branch of every multiverse, so that might have been footage of a totally different Deadpool with a totally different Thor, neither of whom we’ll ever meet.

Or we might never see that scene because it was nothing more than a funny Deadpool & Wolverine joke. That “tease” might have just been director Shawn Levy teasing fans he knew would be desperate for signs about the MCU’s future. It’s an even funnier gag if it never gets a payoff. People will wait for it to happen forever, and the longer they do the funnier it’ll get.

So which is it: a future promise or meta MCU joke? Does Marvel Studios already know exactly when that Deadpool and Thor scene will take place and in what movie? Or are there no current plans to ever revisit that scene and there never will be? The film didn’t commit to either possibility, leaving every option on the table. The gag works entirely on its own and always will, so Marvel doesn’t have to do anything. But even if that is the plan right now, Kevin Feige and cohorts can always decide to make it real later. They have the freedom to pay it off.

Even if the MCU has exact plans for Deadpool and Thor, that doesn’t mean it’ll happen. Scripts change. Executives cancel movies all the time. But that’s exactly why someday someone can also decide to make something that was only a funny gag into an actual plot point.

Marvel probably doesn’t know what the future holds for Deadpool and Thor anymore than we do. But we definitely hope the future includes them teaming up.

The post Did DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Tease a Big Future Team-Up or Just Tease Us? appeared first on Nerdist.

Deadpool & Wolverine is a delightfully dirty superhero movie with multiversal mishaps. It’s also a very clever commentary on the transience of franchise movies. What happens to the characters in an aborted cinematic universe? As such, the movie features a plethora of cameos from versions of characters we know from previous films, most of whom don’t have a home anymore. And some never had a home to begin with. One particular cameo was so unlikely we’re still shocked it happened.

When Deadpool and Wolverine arrive in the Void, they quickly run afoul of Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) and her crew of franchise baddies. They hear of a group of freedom fighters who eventually save them. Among the freedom fighters are X-23 (Dafne Keen), Elektra (Jennifer Garner), Gambit (Channing Tatum), and one other Marvel character whose franchise ended forever ago: Blade, as played by Wesley Snipes. While, hey, fun, Blade, it also represents a bit of moviemaking folklore that seemed unlikely to ever repeat.

Predating X-Men to movie screens by two years, the Blade movies were the first R-rated Marvel adaptations. The first and second movies were huge hits, but the third movie, 2004’s Blade: Trinity was not. It’s a very bad movie, but more than that, the behind-the-scenes stories were the stuff of movie-making nightmares. Infamously, director David S. Goyer did not get along well at all with Snipes, nor did Snipes get along with anyone in the cast. He went method actor for the role and refused to be addressed by anything other than “Blade.” One of those cast members with whom Snipes really clashed was none other than Ryan Reynolds.

Reynolds played Hannibal King, another vampire hunter who works with Blade and Jessica Biel’s Abigail Whistler. According to costar Patton Oswalt, Snipes refused to say a lot of his dialogue so they would toss lines to Reynolds. This made Hannibal King easily the mouthiest character in the movie, and began to hone a foul-mouthed persona that led to Reynolds playing Deadpool. A definite throughline. (You can read about all the behind-the-scenes drama here.)

At any rate, Reynolds left the movie having a very bad time, and Snipes said later he couldn’t stand working with Reynolds. But 20 years later, they appear together in Deadpool & Wolverine. Snipes even came out of retirement to assay the role of Eric Brooks, the Daywalker, again. Presumably time heals all wounds, and the success of the Deadpool movies, plus some dollars in the bank, will definitely help. Snipes and Reynolds never share the frame with Deadpool’s mask off, so maybe they actually didn’t work together again. Still, it’s a fun moment to see Blade, but also extra funny if you know the Blade: Trinity turmoil.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

The post Why One Major DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Cameo Seemed Impossible appeared first on Nerdist.

We’ve always suspected that Deadpool & Wolverine was going to be a cameo-fest from Marvel movies past, especially those coming from Twentieth Century Fox. And we were totally right. Many Marvel characters from pre-MCU films appeared in the Multiversal trash heap world known as The Void. It is a place at the end of time where elements from obsolete timelines go to die. The evil Cassandra Nova, sister of Professor X, rules this Void, as a rag-tag group of forgotten heroes from past Marvel films oppose her. The movie refers to them mainly as “the Others.” But we could just as easily call them “the Avengers of the Void.” Here are the surprise heroes who made the cut for the MCU’s weirdest super team ever.

Elektra (Jennifer Garner)

Jennifer Garner returned as Elektra Nachios, the ninja assassin she played in 2003’s Daredevil and her own spin-off film, Elektra. Neither film became a hit with critics or fans. But we must confess, she was pretty awesome in Deadpool & Wolverine. She kicked the asses of Cassandra Nova’s goons with her twin sai swords, reminding us a bit of the glory days of Alias. She also got the best laugh in the movie, with a joke at the expense of her former co-star/former husband Ben Affleck, who famously played Daredevil alongside her.

Blade (Wesley Snipes)

The man who truly proved Marvel heroes could work in movies made a very welcome return in Deadpool & Wolverine. Wesley Snipes once again played The Daywalker, Blade. The half-human/half-vampire badass was subject of the first successful Marvel film in 1998. Blade helped kick off a cinematic revolution we’re still living in today. Snipes’ return was a bit of a shock, for several reasons. He allegedly did not get along with co-star Ryan Reynolds in Blade Trinity. Not to mention, the Blade films came from New Line Cinema, not Twentieth Century Fox, which Disney now owns. Thank goodness old grievances were let go, and Snipes could return to do what he does best.

The Human Torch (Chris Evans)

Audiences gasped when Captain America, the heart and soul of the MCU, returned in Deadpool & Wolverine. Except, it wasn’t actually Cap. Yes, Deadpool & Wolverine marks the return of Chris Evans to the MCU, but he played his original Marvel role, that of Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch in The Fantastic Four. We’re not sure what became of the rest of his family in the Void (probably nothing good), but Johnny fought side by side with the Avengers of the Void—until Cassandra Nova ripped the flesh from his bones and killed him. But at least we got to see Evans shout “Flame On!” one last time. And also say a lot of curse words that would make Steve Rogers blush bright red.

Gambit (Channing Tatum)

Thought those cameos were shocking? How about an actor that never even got to play the Marvel role he coveted? Channing Tatum appears as the ragin’ Cajun X-Man known as Gambit, wearing his full Jim Lee-designed costume, made famous by X-Men: The Animated Series. Does the costume, and Tatum’s Cajun accent, all read as ridiculous in live-action? You bet. And that’s what made Tatum’s performance so delicious. This role was a very long time coming for Tatum, a huge Gambit fan. He was first announced to play the card-throwing Remy LeBeau in 2014, for a solo film. It kept getting delayed and delayed, until Disney bought Fox, and killed the project. We’re glad Marvel Studios finally let Tatum play his dream role at last.

X-23 (Dafne Keen)

The heart of this makeshift Avengers team, however, is Dafne Keen, who returns to the role of Laura Kinney/X-23. She’s the same daughter of Wolverine she played in Logan, only now she’s a young woman and not a kid anymore. She fights just like her father Logan taught her, and helps the Wolverine in this film reconnect with the hero he once was. After all, her Logan sacrificed himself to save her, and many other mutant kids. She knows this Logan is made of the same stuff. Her moments with Logan in the film are fantastic, and we hope she finds a place on any future MCU X-Men team.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s Cameos in the Void Are Epic and Weird appeared first on Nerdist.

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s MCU debut raised some obvious questions. How does their team-up connect to Fox’s X-Men movies? What did the film reveal about the TVA, the Void, and the Sacred Timeline? And when, where, and how did this crossover take place in the multiverse? Deadpool & Wolverine provided the same answer to all those questions and more: it doesn’t matter, because making sense of timelines and canon is not the point of the movie. Deadpool & Wolverine only cared about delivering a wildly entertaining, fun farewell to an entire era of superhero stories.

If you spend any time trying to “figure out” Deadpool & Wolverine‘s finer technical points—the kind we normally obsess over—you’ll quickly realize a lot of it doesn’t make sense. For example, Ryan Reynolds’ Prime Deadpool lives in the same universe, Earth-10005, as the Wolverine of Logan. That Wolverine was also that universe’s “anchor being,” and his death began (what would have been) Earth-10005’s eventual collapse. Yet that Logan died in the year 2029, five years after the setting of Deadpool & Wolverine. So if Wade could use a TVA TemPad to travel to the future and dig up that Logan’s corpse, why didn’t Wade jump to a point in the timeline where Logan was still alive instead?

Because it doesn’t matter. Just like it doesn’t matter if Earth-10005 is where every Fox era film took place in regards to the MCU. (Speaking of timelines that don’t make sense.) Nor does it matter how the end of Deadpool 2, when Wade used Cable’s time travel device to change the past, fits into anything. That’s as irrelevant as why Wade applied for a job with the Avengers on Earth-616. To focus on any questions about canon, connections, and timelines after Deadpool & Wolverine, in regards to either cinematic franchise, is to miss what Deadpool & Wolverine was actually about.

Director Shawn Levy’s movie utilized the multiverse, but it wasn’t concerned with how the multiverse works. It didn’t even really care why Deadpool or Wolverine was now in the MCU at all. (Neither did it care if either will be part of it moving forward. The movie could easily serve as both Reynolds and Jackman’s final time as their characters.)

Instead Deadpool & Wolverine was about closing the book on the Fox X-Men/Marvel cinematic universe. That’s definitely over and done with, even if certain actors (like Patrick Stewart and Kelsey Grammer) are playing their X-Men characters’ Variants in the MCU. Any questions about the Fox timeline or how it fits within the MCU simply do not matter. The only explanation we need for why Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool is now in the MCU at all is as simple as the one the Merc With a Mouth repeatedly referenced in the film: because Disney bought Deadpool’s movie rights. It’s a meta answer in a meta movie headlined by a fourth-wall breaking character. It makes perfect sense.

Maybe you hate that the film actively didn’t care about official canon or even logic. But Deadpool & Wolverine didn’t care because its focus was entirely on telling an entertaining, hilarious, emotional story that served as a celebration of an entire era of superhero movies. Its many surprise cameos work as well as they do because they weren’t included to establish those characters (or actors) in the MCU. The movie included them solely because they were fun, the single overarching ethos of Deadpool & Wolverine. This movie wanted to offer a fun experience you “felt” rather than something you had to make sense of.

Making sense of canon, timelines, and minor plot points is often the complete opposite of fun. It can be tedious and frustrating, often because it’s nearly impossible. That’s true even for the people who make these movies. Avengers: Endgame‘s directors and writers didn’t even agree on how time travel works! In an era where people use the word “homework” to describe watching most cinematic universes, especially the MCU, Deadpool & Wolverine was summer break. It was as though the film said, “School’s out! Have a blast during your time off and we’ll see you in the fall!”

That approach worked. Deadpool & Wolverine is a better movie because it actively didn’t care about unimportant details. And that meant we didn’t have to, either. Instead of questioning the logic of Wade Wilson using Logan’s skeleton, we got to merely enjoy it. Just like there was no reason to let logic prevent Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan from showing up for an absurd job interview. That was a great scene! It was simple, unencumbered fun. That’s what the movie cared about giving us rather than explaining what Wade’s failed application in a different universe might mean for his MCU future. We can worry about that in the future if it ever matters.

Deadpool & Wolverine didn’t let the “rules” of cinematic universes with all this canon and timeline stuff stop Channing Tatum from finally playing Gambit. It didn’t let logic, canon, or anything else keep Chris Evans, Wesley Snipes, and Jennifer Garner from reprising their old superhero roles. And it definitely didn’t care if the reason Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman finally got a chance to do a good Wolverine and Deapool team-up made total sense or connected movies. It didn’t do any of that because none of that mattered. The only logical explanation the film, or any of us, needed for why this movie exists is the only one the movie provided: because it could. And the only thing that matters is that it sure was fun to see.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist happy to be on summer break from MCU homework. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Why DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Transcends Canon and Timelines appeared first on Nerdist.

The charm of Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool persona wore thin for me around the time of Deadpool 2. The actor/producer/writer had made his own public image almost indistinguishable from the foul-mouthed quip factory and I got tired of it. As a result, I didn’t really enjoy the second film as much as I would otherwise. Even riding the X-Men-high of this past year, and the promise of Logan’s return, I wasn’t sure Deadpool & Wolverine would do much for me. I sit here corrected. I loved this movie so much.

As a function of spending my entire professional career covering different superhero media, I have certainly felt the so-called “fatigue.” In truth, the last several MCU outings have elicited little more than a consternated shrug. Plus, the mess of Sony’s Spider-Man universe, the demise of the DCEU, and the absorption of the Fox Marvel continuity is kind of exhausting. With all of this in mind, Deadpool & Wolverine was a much-needed release. It’s a roast of all of this nonsense, while still getting to the heart of these characters.

Part of the joy of the movie is discovering its many (many, many) surprises, so I’ll only indulge in the briefest of plot summaries. Wade Wilson (Reynolds) has hit some personal troubles and hangs up his Deadpool costume. Now he sports a stapled-on hairpiece and has a job selling cars. To break up this humdrummery, the TVA and specifically Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) appear and present Wade with a choice. He can either watch his world die or he can try to save it. But in order to do that, he’ll need a Wolverine. Too bad his universe’s died in Logan.

Wade eventually finds a Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) who has nothing left to lose and everything to gain. The two embark on what amounts to a hyper-violent, expletive-filled road movie through the Void. Anyone worried the two immortals won’t fight enough, fear not. They eventually cross paths with Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), Professor Xavier’s twin who died in-utero (it’s a comics thing) and her evil ways. Snikt snikt, stab stab, quip quip, etc. (Hard to describe this movie without plot stuff.)

Deadpool & Wolverine is less about specific characters within a specific universe and more about what happens to the characters when a cinematic universe goes away. It gets very Theatre of the Absurd. As Deadpool can break the fourth wall, that has always been an excuse to comment on the artifice of the movies and comics. Here, though resting within a narrative with surprisingly resonant emotions, it’s a meta narrative on the transience of franchises from the perspective of characters whose franchises ceased to exist. And somehow it’s not annoying. Deadpool himself is annoying, but that’s his whole raison d’etre.

Reynolds has the unique ability to play up the pathos within Wade Wilson amid a litany of swear words so foul they’d make Sam Kinison blush. I honestly think Ryan Reynolds says the F word with as much musicality as Samuel L. Jackson in the ’90s. Jackman proves what a great actor he is and what a perfect Wolverine he makes. He conveys all the pain and anguish of this particular Logan variant while still getting the tone of the movie. It’s easy to be the boring one opposite Deadpool, but his journey is the heart of the story. It isn’t just who this Wolverine is to his own universe, but who Wolverine is to fans of these movies.

Macfadyen and Corrin are superb as well with what are at times fairly thankless expository roles. They are astonishingly good actors who never wink or overplay the potential silliness of the movie. While certainly the MCU (and really every superhero movie) continues to have a problem with creating compelling villains, Cassandra Nova works much better than most. Maybe it’s just a character I like, and Corrin’s performance helps a lot, but Nova at least felt like she was in the same movie. The same could not be said for villains in other comedic superhero fare. Thor movies specifically.

Reynolds and director Shawn Levy co-wrote the script with returning Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and comic writer Zeb Wells. They had a Herculean task of balancing the meta jokes, myriad cameos, exceedingly bloody violence, filthy dialogue, comic book plotting, and resonant character journeys. In that respect, I think this is the most successful of all the Deadpool films. Deadpool 2 went deep into comic book stuff and it felt dissonant; here it’s part and parcel. It’s 25 years next May since the release of the first X-Men movie and they managed a heartfelt tribute to that wonderful mess while taking every ounce of piss out if it, and a gross of other films besides.

I’m sure people will find fault in some of the convenient plot moments or unclear time/universe mechanics. Ultimately, none of that matters. Deadpool & Wolverine is an unbridled joy. If this be the final time any of these characters appear (and honestly who the hell knows at this point), it’s a worthy, hilariously profane farewell.

Deadpool & Wolverine ⭐ (5 of 5)

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Is Just the Bloody, Puerile, Heartfelt Movie We Wanted appeared first on Nerdist.

After making a splash in the film Logan back in 2017, the latest trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine shows that Wolverine’s daughter Laura Kinney, also known as X-23, is in the film. The MCU’s X-23 is once again played by Dafne Keen, most recently seen in The Acolyte. But who is Wolverine’s daughter/clone/female counterpart? We’ve got the pertinent details about X-23 and her bizarre history in our latest article series devoted to breaking down this Marvel Comics character, her live-action adventures, and more.

Who Is Marvel’s X-23, a.k.a Laura Kinney?

Learn all about X-23, a.k.a. Laura Kinney, in our latest explainer series, which answers all your burning questions about this Marvel character. From her powers to her appearance in Logan to her potential MCU future, dive on into the story of Wolverine’s daughter, X-23.

• X-23’s First Animated Appearance and Marvel Comics History
• Is X-23 Wolverine’s Daughter or a Logan Clone in the Marvel Universe?
• What Are X-23’s Powers and Abilities?
• X-23 in Logan, the Fox X-Men Universe, and Deadpool & Wolverine

The post Who Is Marvel’s X-23, a.k.a Laura Kinney? From LOGAN to DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE appeared first on Nerdist.

The Deadpool & Wolverine popcorn bucket is designed by Deadpool. And that tells us practically everything we need to know. It wants you to open wide… and enjoy a ton of delicious popcorn. You can finish that off with a golden shower of… butter. Come on now, everyone.

When Deadpool & Wolverine promised the popcorn bucket to end all popcorn buckets, we knew the film would deliver. But we just couldn’t have imagined to what degree. But hey, who doesn’t need a collectible Wolverine with a wide-open mouth on their shelves? And at least the… hole is nice and wide… on the Deadpool & Wolverine popcorn bucket… so you won’t have to struggle to get your popcorn out.

How Can You Get this Deadpool & Wolverine Popcorn Bucket?

This masterpiece of modern design popcorn bucket will be available in theaters when Deadpool & Wolverine releases on July 26. AMC Theatres will be the only chain that will offer the Deadpool & Wolverine popcorn buckets. The bucket includes a large popcorn and costs for $29.99 plus tax.

We bet there will be a mad rush for these, though, so we’d make sure to plan accordingly. Ryan Reynolds seems to think other movies will try to compete with this Deadpool & Wolverine popcorn bucket. But we feel like this movie might just be given the win.

Other Deadpool & Wolverine Offerings at AMC

Look away if you’re totally spoiler-phobic, because aside from the popcorn bucket, AMC has a few other Deadpool & Wolverine cups, popcorn vessels, and other offerings. But a few of them get into some of the cameos we’ll see in the movie. Here’s what AMC shares of their cinematic offerings:

• Our own Headpool popcorn vessel also available July 25, includes a large popcorn and retails for $39.99 plus tax. 
• A Deadpool or Wolverine GRIPPR® cup with mystery topper for $24.99 plus tax, includes a large drink.
• A movie-themed ceramic mug featuring both Deadpool and Wolverine for $21.99 plus tax.
• Two special DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Movie Feature Drinks, including The Do-Over (sweet strawberry) or The Crossover (tart orange), both made with Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation American Gin.
• Two new limited edition Coke Freestyle mixes, the Coca-Cola Chimichanga Chaser and the Fanta Pina-Claw-Da that is only available at AMC.
• And a Deadpool Double-Take shareable combo, featuring Nashville Hot gourmet popcorn, available beginning July 24.

Click To View Gallery

We’ll leave you with these various shots of the bucket, which are surely just what you need in your day.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s Popcorn Bucket Is Every Bit as Suggestive as You’d Imagine appeared first on Nerdist.

From the looks of things in the trailers, it seems Deadpool & Wolverine is going to have many cameos from characters from the Fox X-Men universe. One scene in the second trailer shows Cassandra Nova, probably the film’s main villain, emerging in front of several characters in the Void. Her stronghold seems to be the dead body of an Ant-Man variant. Eagle-eyed Marvel fans will notice several mutants from the Fox X-Men films standing about. While we can’t confirm if the original actors return to these roles, we can tell it’s those same characters at least. Here’s who we know is in the Void with Logan and Wade in the Deadpool & Wolverine trailers, and which X-Men films they originated from.

X-23/Laura Kinney (Logan)

The biggest reveal from a Deadpool & Wolverine trailer or ad is that Dafne Keen is returning at Laura Kinney, a.k.a. X-23, reprising her role from Logan. While Dafne play the same version of Logan’s daughter from the previous film, or are we looking at a variant here? We have a feeling this character is going to be more than just a cameo appearance, perhaps setting herself up for a future in the MCU.

Azazel (X-Men: First Class)

One of the easiest characters to spot at the giant Ant-Man corpse that is Cassandra Nova’s HQ is none other than Azazel. The red-hued demonic-looking mutant first appeared in 2011’s X-Men: First Class. In that film, he was one of Sebastian Shaw’s henchmen in the Hellfire Club. However, the movies explained that he died between the events of that film and Days of Future Past. Perhaps he didn’t really die, and they sent him to the Void? Azazel was once believed to be Nightcrawler’s father in the comics. However, recent events show that Mystique was Nightcrawler’s father, and conceived Nightcrawler while using Azazel’s form. Jason Flemyng portrayed Azazel in First Class. Will he return for Deadpool & Wolverine? We still don’t know.

Lady Deathstrike (X2: X-Men: United)

Lady Deathstrike threw down with Wolverine in one of the best-ever X-Men films, X2: X-Men United. The movie reimagined Yuriko Oyama as an experiment of William Stryker’s in the Weapon X project, just like Logan. She was a mutant with a healing factor like Wolverine’s, and had similarly grafted adamantium claws. This is a significant change from her comic book counterpart. Nevertheless, Kelly Hu and Hugh Jackman had a legendary fight in the climax of X2, where Deathstrike appeared to definitively die. It seems like a version of her still exists in the Void, so we may finally see the Wolverine/Deathstrike rematch after two decades. Hopefully, with Kelly Hu in the role.

Sabretooth (X-Men)

Rumors persist that the Liev Schreiber version of Sabretooth from X-Men: Origins will appear in Deadpool & Wolverine, yet the version in the trailer is confirmed as the Tyler Mane iteration from the first X-Men. It was always unclear if both versions of the animalistic mutant were meant to be the same character or not. Yet this is the version who said to Storm “You owe me a scream” back in 2000, now stuck in the Void.

Toad (X-Men)

Another veteran of the original X-Men film who seems to be lurking in the shot of everyone together is Toad. In the first X-Men film, Darth Maul performer Ray Park portrayed Magneto’s amphibian lackey. He even had a big battle moment with Jean Grey. Storm dispatched him as she uttered the lines “Do you know what happens to a toad when it’s struck by lightning?” True, it seemed like Toad kicked the bucket after Storm smoked him. But maybe he was just discarded with the other Fox mutants in the Void?

Pyro (X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand)

We first saw Aaron Stanford’s fire-controlling mutant Pyro in the first trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine. This was his big comeback, after a serious head butt from Iceman in X-Men: The Last Stand. It’s hard to say if it’s the version from the previous Fox X-Men films, or some kind of variant—a variant that is now stuck in the Void. Unlike the other characters, we can at least confirm the same actor plays Pyro from the original X-Men films.

There Will Be More Cameos to Come for Deadpool & Wolverine

We bet we can expect many more cameos to come when Deadpool & Wolverine releases in theaters. But the good news is that all of these cameos will serve a purpose in the story of the movie.

Recently, director Shawn Levy shared, “I’ll say we didn’t start off with a wishlist. From the day we started devising this Deadpool and Wolverine story, we let the story dictate the characters, not the other way around. Aaron and his return as Pyro was an outgrowth of that, and that applies to pretty much all the characters you’ll see in the movie.”

We can’t wait to see what other Fox X-Men cameos will come our way as we learn more about Deadpool & Wolverine.

Originally published on April 22, 2024.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s Confirmed Mutants From the Fox X-MEN Movies appeared first on Nerdist.

Aaron Stanford will be making be making a cameo as his X-Men character Pyro in Deadpool & Wolverine. Stanford’s Pyro first appeared in X2: X-Men United and in X-Men: The Last Stand (colloquially known as X3). The live-action Pyro of the movies shared a power with his Marvel Comics counterpart: the ability to manipulate but not create fire. However, beyond that, there were really very few similarities between the comic character and the cinematic version of Pyro played by Stanford. But will Pyro be more inspired by his Marvel Comics roots when he returns to appear in the MCU? Nerdist sat down for an interview Stanford, and his answer to that question is yes… and no. While in Deadpool & Wolverine, Pyro’s costume will be inspired by Marvel Comics’ Ultimate X-Men version of Pyro, the heart of the character will remain with the X-Men movie incarnation.

Pyro’s Costume Draws Inspiration from Marvel Comics’ Ultimate X-Men in Deadpool & Wolverine

When asked if the MCU will be pulling from any specific Marvel Comics stories for Pyro in Deadpool and & Wolverine, here’s what Stanford had to say:

They are. For Pyro’s costume in particular, Deadpool & Wolverine took from, I think it’s called Ultimate X-Men, I think it’s the Pyro in the Ultimate Marvel Comics series, where he has a very specific look, and they replicated the costume that version of Pyro has. But not the rest of him because that version of Pyro is really interesting. He’s a madman, and he’s horribly burned over his entire body from all the fire that he’s been playing with for his entire life. But yeah, so I think they drew upon that.

So [Deadpool & Wolverine] is sort of an amalgam of the look from that run from that universe and then what they created [for Pyro] in the X-Men movies. And you’re correct; those were a bit different from the original Marvel Comics. Not only he’s a full grown adult, but he’s Australian, and he is, of all things, a gothic romance novelist, which is absolutely fascinating. And I wish they had delved into that at some point.

We’ll be excited to see some of Marvel Comics’ Pyro come to life in Deadpool & Wolverine. Ultimate X-Men exists as a separate Marvel Comics continuity introduced in 2007 by Robert Kirkman. In this world, Pyro was a member of the Morlocks, who were sewer-dwelling mutants. As Stanford points out, Ultimate X-Men Pyro has a body covered in burn scars from his constant exposure to fire. However, it doesn’t sound like the MCU will draw from this Marvel Comics’ storyline for Pyro’s narrative arc—but instead, stick to homaging his look in it.

The X-Men Movies Never Really Used Marvel Comics for Inspiration When It Came to Pyro

In addition to talking about Marvel Comics’ inspirations in his Deadpool & Wolverine turn, Stanford also discussed with us the specific lack of them in the original X-Men movies. He noted that though he looked, he didn’t readily find X2 and X3 Pyro in the comics. Stanford shared:

I really wasn’t [taking inspiration from Marvel Comics for X-Men‘s Pyro] because at that stage, all the source material they gave me, it was real old school stuff, and the stuff that I read, anyway, the stuff that I was aware of, that was on my radar, it didn’t have a lot of that backstory. Again, it did have that interesting, weird, he’s a romance novelist stuff, which was just like, I was like, wow, that’s not what I expected. But no, there definitely was a break from the comics. And I think that was, again, because they wanted to tell this story that took place in this school and the small grouping of Rogue, Iceman, and Pyro; they really wanted to tell it from a younger perspective. And that younger version of Pyro didn’t exist in the comics, so a lot of it had to sort of be made up.

Now that Pyro is older and wiser in Deadpool & Wolverine, it will be interesting to see if anything beyond his Ultimate X-Men costume filters through from the pages of Marvel Comics to the screen. We’ll tune in to find out on July 26, when Deadpool & Wolverine releases in theaters. And make sure to check back with Nerdist later this week to read our full interview with Aaron Stanford.

The post Pyro Is Inspired by Marvel Comics’ ULTIMATE X-MEN in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, Shares Aaron Stanford appeared first on Nerdist.

According to Kevin Feige, Deadpool & Wolverine will be the most wholesome R-rated movie ever. And its final trailer certainly makes us feel that way. In addition to pulling on our heartstrings more generally, the trailer also reveals a very special Logan cameo will come to us in Deadpool & Wolverine. Yes, that’s right, Dafne Keen will return to our screens as X-23, Wolverine’s feral surrogate daughter, in the upcoming Marvel Studios movie. You can take a look at Keen’s return to our screens as X-23, also known as Laura, in the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer below.

There’s been a lot of buzz about whether Dafne Keen would or would not return to cameo as Logan‘s X-23/Laura in Deadpool & Wolverine. But it seems like Marvel doesn’t want to leave us wondering for very long. X-23 tells Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer, “You were always the wrong guy, till you weren’t.” And we get the feeling her appearance will be just the thing that downtrodden Logan needs to go into full heroic (but still grumpy) mode.

In Logan, Wolverine becomes X-23’s surrogate father. X-23 is a Wolverine clone, after all. He devotes himself to protecting her and other mutant children and gives his life in the process. Logan was meant to be Hugh Jackman’s final turn in Wolverine. But, obviously, that didn’t take. The somber movie is, however, lauded as one of the finest superhero movies ever. Deadpool & Wolverine will have a very different tone to Logan, and so we’re curious to see in what form Keen’s X-23 will return.

Keen shares of returning to X-23 in Deadpool & Wolverine, “It was wonderful to get to come back to that and explore that as a grownup… now understanding more parental rage so much more and bringing that to the table for her. I found that Laura in Logan stumbled into having a dad and then having lost her dad. We find her again really knowing how to appreciate — and with this kind of wiseness to her — how much her father means to her.” But not to worry, she’s still physical and feral.

Deadpool & Wolverine releases in theaters July 26.

The post  Dafne Keen’s X-23 Returns to Cameo in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s Final Trailer appeared first on Nerdist.

The world was in a much different place when Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool, made his comic book debut in The New Mutants in 1990. The first of two Bushes was President, Nirvana had yet to release Nevermind, and the only superheroes who had movies were Superman and Batman. It took many years and a whole lot of writers and artists, but eventually, Deadpool rose the ranks to become a genuine superstar in the vast canon that is the Marvel Universe. 

Today, you can’t walk around the mall (if there’s still one open near you) and not see Deadpool somewhere. The Merc with the Mouth is a serious pop culture icon, his red and black mask plastered onto t-shirts, hoodies, Funko figures, and so much more. With not one, not two, but three theatrical movies under his belt, one could argue Deadpool is as big as Mickey Mouse.

In the world of comic books, dozens of brilliant comics writers have shaped Deadpool into the wisecracking, chimichanga-munching anti-hero we know him to be. While Ryan Reynolds tears up the screen yet again as Deadpool in the new Deadpool & Wolverine, it’s high time to look back at some of the all-time greatest Deadpool comic runs. Whether you’re a completionist looking to curate the perfect library or a newbie still dipping a toe into comics, or someone in between, this list is for you if you need a little Deadpool in your life. (Don’t we all?)

9. Deadpool by Mark Waid

Deadpool’s metamorphosis into the wisecracking, fourth wall-breaking mercenary we know him now was a slower evolution than you might think. Revisit his debut in The New Mutants and early X-Force appearances and you’ll find a different Wade Wilson than you know today. This isn’t to say Deadpool wasn’t a blabbermouth back then, but his personality hardly stood out from the other hard-edged mutants he was pitted against. After the mild success of his first solo mini, Deadpool: The Circle Chase by Fabian Nicieza and Joe Madureira, there came a second miniseries that has flown under the radar since its 1994 publication, simply titled Deadpool by writer Mark Waid (with art by Ian Churchill, Jason Temujin Minor, and Bud LaRosa). 

While it lasts just four issues, Waid – who was in the midst of a hot streak at the time, with titles like The Flash and later Kingdom Come at DC – strikes a fine balance between dark, edgy machismo with Deadpool’s developing humor. The story isn’t much to write home about; Deadpool’s favorite bar gets wrecked, and so the Merc teams with mutants like Siryn and Banshee for payback all while his healing factor malfunctions. But the visual art is peak ’90s maximalism, combined with a dash of Waid’s belief that Deadpool will get what’s coming to him – or so Waid thought. In a 1997 interview with Wizard, Waid later expressed regret writing the series, saying: “Someone who hasn’t paid for their crimes presents a problem for me.”

8. Hawkeye vs. Deadpool by Gerry Duggan

You’ll pardon the awkward numbering of the five-issue miniseries Hawkeye vs. Deadpool, which begins with issue #0 and ends with issue #4. But this delightful action-comedy romp splatters the walls with hilarious bits that really put the “comic” in comic books. Beginning on Halloween night, Deadpool runs into Hawkeye, with the two quickly teaming up to investigate a murder mystery involving a dead body and a strange USB drive. (It makes a curious case of the word “vs.” in the title, to be frank.) 

Continuity-wise, the miniseries intersects with Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn’s monthly Deadpool (including a gut-busting cameo from the ghost of Ben Franklin, originating from the first story arc). It also in a lot of ways acts as a spiritual continuation of Matt Fraction’s acclaimed Hawkeye. But Hawkeye vs. Deadpool is so fast-paced and such a fun read that you don’t need to read anything else even if you’re a dedicated completionist. If you need to kill a single afternoon and want to split your sides, Hawkeye vs. Deadpool is a real bullseye.

7. Black Panther vs. Deadpool by Daniel Kibbelsmith

When Marvel’s Black Panther grossed billions at the box office in 2018, everything about him exuded untouchable royalty. But only a transgressive, innocently offensive character like Deadpool could dare scratch the king of Wakanda. From writer Daniel Kibbelsmith, the five-issue crossover miniseries Black Panther vs. Deadpool wholly banks on the oddball novelty of its marquee characters duking it out.

After Deadpool’s efforts to save Brooklyn from a Z-list villain results in collateral damage, Deadpool embarks on an urgent mission to Wakanda to retrieve precious Vibranium in order to save a life. While Deadpool politely asks T’Challa at first, the noble Black Panther rebuffs him, leading the two to put claws to katanas. With former Late Show with Stephen Colbert writer Kibbelsmith at the helm, Black Panther vs. Deadpool is a propulsive read. It’s a breezy collision of action and comedy in a showdown no Marvel fan knew they wanted until now. The visual art matches the manic energy of the miniseries, with both Deadpool and Black Panther looking especially feral in jagged and slanted lines. 

6. Deadpool by Joe Kelly

If you want the origins of Deadpool, the character, read The New Mutants. If you want the origins of Deadpool, the satirical and determined jester in red spandex who takes on life one katana swing at a time, read Deadpool by Joe Kelly. 

After establishing himself at Marvel on works like Fantastic Four 2099, Joe Kelly embarked on his first monthly assignment: a new Deadpool series in 1997. This very lengthy run gave us most of the hallmarks fans associate Deadpool with today: the breaking of the fourth wall, the abundant pop culture references, even Deadpool’s annoyance factor that gives everyone else in the Marvel Universe a headache. (Wanna see Deadpool reference Street Fighter and uppercut Kitty Pryde while screaming “Shoryuken”? That’s issue #27.) 

But past all the juvenile humor is the pathos of a lonely soul who bounces around like an unwanted pinball. Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza shaped Deadpool out of clay, but it was Joe Kelly who gave him a lasting presence. After Kelly’s run on the ’97 Deadpool ended with issue #33, with the series taken over by Christopher Priest (whose run is less acclaimed but no less interesting) and then a series of other freelance scribes before Gail Simone took the series home to – and Deadpool would giggle at this – issue #69.

Issues in Joe Kelly’s run: Deadpool #-1 (flashback one-shot published after issue #6), Deadpool #0, Deadpool #1-33, Annual Deadpool & Daredevil ’97, Annual Deadpool & Death ’98

5. Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender

Deadpool has never been much of a team player. But that all changed in Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force, a continuation of the 2008 X-Force by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost. Remender’s story picks up after Cyclops shuts down X-Force, with Wolverine covertly keeping operations running as X-Force leader. This new iteration of X-Force consists of Psylocke, Fantomex, Archangel, and Deadpool, who all adopt an incredibly sick black and white uniform color scheme. (Honestly, more superhero teams should adopt unified colors like pro sports.)

Deadpool maintains his rep as a jokester, but Uncanny X-Force turns down the volume on his obnoxiousness to suit the series’ overall serious tone. This doesn’t mean Deadpool takes it easy on Apocalypse, mind you. But Uncanny X-Force isn’t Deadpool’s show to steal, as the Merc lets his pal Wolverine and the more enigmatic Fantomex take up more attention as the series’ main protagonists. Between its gorgeous art and strong character-oriented writing, Uncanny X-Force is not just a great Deadpool title but a great X-Men-adjacent title overall.

4. Deadpool: Bad Blood by Rob Liefeld

Say what you want about Rob Liefeld. When you read a Deadpool comic written by Liefeld, it’s like watching a Terminator flick directed by James Cameron: Nothing beats a proven creator working on their most famous creation.   

In 2017, the popular if also divisive comics legend got the greenlight for Deadpool: Bad Blood, an entire Deadpool graphic novel. (Along for the ride are writers Chris Sims, Chad Bowers, and artists Romulo Fajaroo Jr. and Joe Sabino.) The contained series introduces a new nemesis for Deadpool, a thick brawler named Thumper whose past connections to Wade Wilson run deeper than most others in the Marvel Universe. Conceptually a celebration of Deadpool’s early history as seen through Liefeld – including a “reunion” of the original X-Force, albeit in flashback – Deadpool: Bad Blood has all the hallmarks of ’90s era Deadpool with modern touches. The awkward bodily anatomies and aggro aesthetic ain’t a bug baby. They’re all features.

3. Spider-Man/Deadpool 

2016 was a great year for Spider-Man and Deadpool. That year, Ryan Reynolds starred in the box office smash Deadpool, an R-rated party at the theater that fans waited for literal years to happen. Shortly after that, Tom Holland swung into his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War. So it was excellent timing when Marvel published that same year Spider-Man/Deadpool #1, the first of an epic 50-issue series in which the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler puts up with the decidedly unfriendly assassin.

But while Spider-Man/Deadpool could have rested on its laurels with its A-list characters, the series’ revolving door of top tier writers were not content with mediocrity. Starting with veteran Deadpool writer Joe Kelly, Spider-Man/Deadpool relishes in the unabashed fun of a mismatched pair like Spidey and DP before further exploring what these characters mean to each other. For Spider-Man, he learns to see the person behind the violence and the humor; for Deadpool, he aspires to hold himself to a higher standard of costumed crime fighter. (Also: The series coincides with Peter Parker’s role of CEO of Parker Industries, so Deadpool’s interference of Spidey’s daily routine often gets extra funny.)

Whether it’s roasting Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (issue #6), running into Penn & Teller (issue #11), or speculating their elderly future in the multi-part arc “Oldies,” Spider-Man/Deadpool makes the absolute most of their unstoppable leads. In addition to Kelly, the series also sees writers like Scott Aukerman, Gerry Duggan, Paul Scheer, and Robbie Thompson take a swing at writing the delirious duo. 

2. Cable & Deadpool by Fabian Nicieza

Sometimes, sequels really are better than the originals. After both Deadpool and Cable’s solo titles were canceled, these two gun-toting mutants joined forces to star in Cable & Deadpool, easily one of the best mainstream superhero comics of the 2000s. Written by Fabian Nicieza (with artist Reilly Brown scripting the final two issues), Cable & Deadpool is quintessential 2000s superhero bombast with the distinct vibe of a classic buddy action movie. 

The story starts with Cable determined to use his powers to change the world for the better only to wind up before Deadpool, who is hired by a cult to steal a virus that will uniformly turn everyone’s skin color on Earth blue. Eventually, Cable and Deadpool obtain the power of teleportation, with the utterly ingenious caveat being that whenever it’s used, they both teleport. From there, Cable and Deadpool become an unlikely but dynamic pair – plus a later addition in Bob, Agent of Hydra – who come face to face with everyone in the Marvel Universe, from the Fantastic Four to the Avengers to the then-married power couple of Black Panther and Storm.

Cable & Deadpool sports an array of different artists, all of whom bring to the table their own individual styles. That said, there is a pretty criminal overuse in digital airbrushing, as well as an overall aesthetic you could describe as “American manga” (a strange phenomenon unique to the mid-aughts, when anime was still in the midst of discovery by the American mainstream). But no matter how it looks, Cable & Deadpool is a delight from page to page, and proof that the end of one thing is always the start of something new.

1. Deadpool by Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn

As the dust settled on Avengers vs. X-Men, Marvel kicked off a new publishing initiative dubbed Marvel NOW. Among its biggest titles was a brand new monthly Deadpool series, co-written by veteran scribe Gerry Duggan and comedian Brian Posehn. 

Once again bearing the simple title of Deadpool, the series restored a lot of lost glory for the Merc with the Mouth, following Deadpool figuring his place in the wider Marvel Universe and enduring shocking revelations along the way. Minor spoilers, but at one point Deadpool meets his biological daughter, an adorable li’l mutant named Ellie Camacho.

The starting arc of Duggan/Posehn’s Deadpool is a doozy, in which an amateur sorcerer brings back the souls of dead U.S. presidents in hopes of – ahem, making America great again. (This came out in 2013, by the way.) While that first arc is divisive, the rest of the series is peak Deadpool, a masterful balance of DP’s antics and outrageous challenges with profound emotional angst. Across 45 issues, Duggan and Posehn’s Deadpool is the platonic ideal for anyone looking for a good time that goes for a long time.

The post Best Deadpool Comic Book Runs, Ranked appeared first on Nerdist.

In the pages of Marvel Comics, Victor Creed, a.k.a. Sabretooth, is Wolverine’s biggest rival. The Joker to his Batman, if you will. He’s the worst-case scenario version of Logan—an animal-like mutant, who is almost impossible to kill, a true psychopath with no redeeming qualities. Despite this, he’s worked for and against Wolverine and the X-Men over the years. Thanks to appearances on X-Men: The Animated Series, X-Men: Evolution, and in the live-action films, Sabretooth has become iconic. Now, Sabretooth returns for one more bloody tussle with Logan in Deadpool & Wolverine. Here’s everything you need to know about Wolverine’s most hated enemy.

What Are Sabretooth’s Mutant Powers?

Sabretooth has very similar powers to his main rival, Wolverine. He has razor-sharp claws, regenerative capabilities, including an extensive healing factor, and animal-like senses. He has enhanced agility, speed, stamina, and strength. Similar to Wolverine, Creed’s healing factor allows him to age very slowly. Although his true age remains a mystery, many believe him to be well over 150 years old. As a side effect of Creed’s powers, he suffers from an unquenchable bloodlust.

Over the years, he’s asked various psychic mutants to help alleviate his murderous tendencies with a telepathic soothing balm he calls “the glow.” But even that hasn’t ever fully stripped him of his murderous nature. Eventually, Creed would get an adamantium skeleton of his own like Logan’s, although it would come and go. Even without his powers, Creed remains one of the most skilled hunters and trackers in the Marvel universe, undergoing training by organizations such as Hydra, SHIELD, Weapon X, the CIA, and many others.

Sabretooth’s Marvel Comics History and Relationship with Wolverine

Sabretooth didn’t first appear in X-Men comics, however. He first appeared in the pages of Iron First in 1977, as the martial artist’s intended primary antagonist. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne, Claremont shifted Sabretooth over to the pages of Uncanny X-Men, where he developed a long-standing rivalry with the similarly-powered Wolverine. This began in earnest when Mister Sinister recruited him into his Marauders, and he helped slaughter several Morlocks during the Mutant Massacre. From that point forward, they presented Sabretooth as Logan’s primary nemesis.

The source of the Logan/Creed animosity is still a question. Some believe Sabretooth simply hates that there is someone out there with a similar skill set. Others have suggested that their animosity stems from incidents that happened to them while part of the government’s Weapon X project, and several murders of Wolverine’s loved ones he committed. However, some of those incidents are thought to be implanted memories now. The prevailing belief is that Creed simply hates that Logan won’t unleash his feral nature. He disdains Logan’s moral compass, something Sabretooth totally lacks.

Sabretooth Is X-Men Enemy and a Member of the X-Men

Despite his truly amoral nature, over the years Sabretooth has been part of several teams. Aside from Sinister’s Marauders, he’s been a part of the terrorist Brotherhood. There, he worked under his former lover Mystique. The pair have a child together, the human-supremacist leader Graydon Creed. Sabretooth has also been part of the X-Men, during a time when Professor X thought he might cure Sabretooth of his sadistic tendencies. They also forced Creed to work with the government-sanctioned X-Factor for a time, before breaking free of their control. In the recent Krakoan era of X-Men, one of the few mutants who did not agree to the “no killing humans” rule was Creed. So for a time, the X-Men imprisoned him within the island itself.

Sabretooth in the 20th Century Fox X-Men Movies

There are two contradicting versions of Sabretooth in the Fox X-Men films. The first was played by wrestler Tyler Mane. He worked for Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants in the original 2000 X-Men film. He tussles several times with Wolverine, although there is no indication that he knows Logan from a previous life at all in this film. The two fight atop the Statue of Liberty, a battle where Wolverine soundly defeats him. In the first X-Men, he barely has any lines. His personality is blank outside of a few mean snarls.

2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine introduced us to a totally different version of Sabretooth, played by actor Liev Schreiber. This version was Logan’s half-brother, who fought by his side for years. Eventually, they have a falling out, becoming bitter enemies. Although Marvel writers once toyed with Sabretooth and Wolverine as relatives, it never happened. So this is a complete Hollywood invention. Not only does this Victor Creed not visually match the one in the comics, but he also seems totally foreign to the one in the original X-Men film. Very little ties these two characters together visually. Perhaps the first glaring notion that there was no real continuity at work in the Fox X-Men universe.

Which Sabretooth Appears in the MCU and Who Plays Him?

We now have confirmation that Sabretooth will appear in Deadpool & Wolverine, and have a rematch with Logan (Hugh Jackman). We see the two prepare to fight in the wasteland we believe to be the Void from Loki in a recent trailer. The version in the film is clearly Tyler Mane, the original version from the first X-Men film, from nearly 25 years ago. There are rumors that Liev Schreiber’s version of Victor Creed from X-Men: Origins will also appear, so maybe we will get an answer as to which version is the “real” Sabretooth at last. We’ll know for certain when Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters on July 26.

The post Sabretooth, Logan’s Feral Enemy in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

Deadpool & Wolverine‘s latest trailer brought back another familiar X-Men face: Sabretooth. Yes, the most recent trailer from the Deadpool movie offers us our first-look at Sabretooth’s return. And it’s a pretty hefty one. This trailer is all about Wolverine and his past. Things haven’t gone right for this version of Wolverine, whatever universe he’s from. But Sabretooth is still a big facet of his past. “Ready to die?” Sabretooth demands. But we can’t watch this fight yet because as Deadpool notes, folks have waited decades for this Wolverine and Sabretooth fight. To see Wolverine take on Sabretooth in an epic X-Men clash between hero and villain, you’ll need to head to theaters for Deadpool & Wolverine.

Here is Sabretooth in all his glory. We glimpsed Sabretooth in an earlier Deadpool & Wolverine trailer, but it wasn’t a very clear image. In fact, we couldn’t tell who would play Sabretooth in Deadpool & Wolverine at that point. But now we can confirm that, yes, the MCU’s Sabretooth will be played by Tyler Mane. Tyler Mane first played Sabretooth in the original 20th Century Fox movie from 2000, X-Men. Fans will remember Sabretooth menacingly growling at Storm, “You owe me a scream.” Tyler Mane’s version of Sabretooth did not appear again in any X-Men movies until now. Sabretooth appeared in X-Men: Origins but he was played by Liev Schreiber.

Although Wolverine is unlikely to follow Deadpool’s detailed advice on how to take on Sabretooth, we bet their fight will be one for the books.

Deadpool & Wolverine is bringing back a bunch of deep-cut X-Men characters and their actors for the MCU. And if we’re seeing Sabretooth in the trailer for the film, we bet there are a ton more surprise cameos in store.

We’ll be able to see them all when Deadpool & Wolverine premieres on July 26. Tickets are available now.

The post Here’s Our First Look at Sabretooth’s Return, Courtesy of DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’s Latest Trailer appeared first on Nerdist.

Deadpool & Wolverine is almost here, and the fandom couldn’t be more excited to see “Marvel Jesus” and his adamantium-boned buddy team up at last. While we still don’t know many things about the film, the trailers have given us some rather large clues as to the plot. And we think those clues hint strongly that Deadpool & Wolverine will lead directly into Avengers: Secret Wars, the final chapter of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. What we do know is that Logan and Wade are trapped together in Void, the repository of dead timelines first seen in Loki. We also know that they’re fighting X-Men villain Cassandra Nova.

In that Mad Max-esque Void, there are several known mutants from the X-Men films, like Pyro and Sabretooth. This is the first MCU project that officially canonized the Fox X-Men films as part of the larger cosmology, much as Spider-Man: No Way Home did for the pre-Tom Holland Spidey films. So we think it’s all leading up to a classic X-Men reunion, probably fighting the Avengers in Secret Wars. One thing we feel confident in saying about any of these Multiversal mutants coming our way is that the Wolverine from Logan definitely won’t be resurrected.

Deadpool & Wolverine to Feature Zombie Logan? Probably Not

Marvel Studios is leaning hard into the Multiverse right now. Therefore, we know that Jackman’s arrival means they are not going to undo Wolverine’s death in Logan. As it stands, that movie felt disconnected and in its own universe, even from the original X-Men films. After all, the events of Logan don’t really line up with the restored future we saw at the end of Days of Future Past. So with the Multiverse Saga in play now, we think that Logan can remain its own thing. Whatever version of Wolverine we see in Deadpool & Wolverine definitely won’t be the same one who died in Logan. They won’t dig him up and Frankenstein him back to life, so to speak. We think the integrity of James Mangold’s film is safe.

A Deadpool and Wolverine Road Trip?!

In the past, Ryan Reynolds has said that his original plans for Deadpool & Wolverine involved a “Rashomon-style road trip with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.” We feel that is probably still the case, only with a Multiversal bent this time. One particular scene in the trailer of Logan and Wade jumping through a mystical portal, very similar to that of Doctor Strange’s portal, suggests it is. To us, that indicates they’ll be reality-hopping together, at least part of the time. We honestly believe that with Hugh Jackman coming back for Deadpool & Wolverine, he’ll stick around for one more outing afterward, and it’ll be Avengers: Secret Wars. And maybe he will bring some of his fellow X-Men with him.

Deadpool & Wolverine Will Lead to an X-Men Reunion

Problematic director aside, the original X-Men films still matter. Their success paved the way for Spider-Man and eventually the entire MCU. And Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige himself has a bit of a sentimental soft spot for the first X-Men movies. They were his first on-screen credits in a Marvel film after all. That’s why he included Patrick Stewart in Multiverse of Madness, and Kelsey Grammer’s Beast in The Marvels. Those films started him on the path that led him to become head of Marvel Studios. So before the inevitable reboot of Marvel’s mutants, which is on the horizon, he might want to pay homage to the ones who started it all. It’s just a question of which X-Men make the cut. We know several confirmed secondary mutants already. If they’re in this, some of the main team must be coming our way, too.

Is Deadpool & Wolverine a Prelude to Avengers: Secret Wars?

If the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars follows the comics in even the smallest way, it will see the introduction of Battleworld. In the comics, that was a patchwork planet made out of the remains of several realities. But each of those realities became slightly different (or sometimes very different) when merging into Battleworld. So one of those realities could be a version of the Fox X-Men universe. It doesn’t even have to follow the continuity (such as it is) of the Fox X-Men films, because they have recreated it as something new. As we stated, we know that a good chunk of the film takes place in the Void from Loki, the repository world of dead realities. Could the Void simply become Battleworld in Secret Wars?

Given all that, we could still get the original actors back in their roles. Meaning we could get a proper send-off for not only Hugh Jackman, but also Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, James Marsden, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, and Patrick Stewart. He recently hinted broadly as to his return. We think he knows something he’s not sharing with the rest of the class (of Xavier’s School).

Could We See Costumed X-Men at Long Last?

Kevin Feige was one of the few true Marvel Comics fans on the set of X-Men, according to Hugh Jackman. In fact, Jackman has said in interviews that Feige snuck him Wolverine comics to his trailer, on the sly, as comic books were forbidden on set. And he also fixed Logan’s hair to be more comics-accurate. Now that he’s in charge of the whole enchilada, we knew he couldn’t resist finally putting Jackman in a comics-accurate costume. So if any of the other original X-Men show up, we think this holds true for them as well. Imagine if we see the 2000s cast, flying into action as the X-Men: The Animated Series theme plays? We’re losing our minds over it already.

Now, maybe Jackman’s return to play Wolverine really is “one last time.” But given his comments in the past about how fun it would be to be part of the MCU someday, we have a feeling that Deadpool & Wolverine is almost certainly not the end quite yet. And the X-Men might stand next to the Avengers and the Fantastic Four in battle before it’s all said and done.

Originally published on September 28, 2022.

The post Will DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Lead to Classic X-Men in AVENGERS: SECRET WARS? appeared first on Nerdist.

Often, the parts of superhero movies the studios are terrified of spoiling in trailers are revealed months in advance via toys. And the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine is no different. This collector’s 1/6 scale figure from Hot Toys/Sideshow Collectibles replicates the look of Hugh Jackman’s Logan from the film, complete with the iconic mask from the comic books at last. Although we’ve seen the mask before in certain promotional images, this figure is the best idea we have outside the film itself as what Jackman will look like in his full comics-accurate Wolverine regalia. You can check out several images, as well as read the official description, below:

Click To View Gallery

The screen-accurate collectible action figure is crafted based on the appearance of Wolverine portrayed by Hugh Jackman from the upcoming theatrical release, features a newly developed masked head sculpt with interchangeable lower faces showcasing different expressions, a highly poseable muscular body, arms made in silicone material with seamless elbows design, carefully tailored costume that replicates his battle outfit, multiple interchangeable hands with attachable bladed claws for additional posing options.

This Deadpool & Wolverine figure includes one newly developed masked head sculpt with three interchangeable lower faces, a screen-accurate facial expression, and detailed beard and skin textures. Wolverine stands at approximately 31 cm tall, and a body with over 30 points of articulation. They made the arms from silicone material with seamless elbow joints. There are 6 pieces of interchangeable hands including one pair of fists, one pair of relaxed hands, and one pair of open hands. The Deluxe Edition comes with a Hugh Jackman maskless face sculpt, as well as sleeves.

The costume is a yellow, navy, and black color Wolverine suit with weathering effects. It comes with one set of body armor, including chest guard, shoulder guards, and gauntlets. Logan also has one pair of navy and black colored boots. Of course, Logan has a pair of bladed claws (attachable to the back of the hands). A specially designed figure stand with the movie logo and character nameplate is also part of the package. The price for this bad boy is $280.00, and $340.00 for the Deluxe Edition, with shipping expected April to September 2025. You can click here to pre-order the Hot Toys Deadpool & Wolverine figures.

The post New DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Deluxe Figure Gives Us Our Best Look at Masked Logan appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s been teased for a while, but Deadpool and Wolverine’s “Please Silence Your Phone” PSA has finally arrived in theaters. Naturally, it’s also hit the internet. So if you can’t wait to be told off by one angry mutant and one snarky anti-hero, you can do so right away.

You should always silence your phone at the theater. But this Deadpool & Wolverine PSA certainly doesn’t hurt as a reminder. It also gives us a very vibrant and bleep-full taste of what’s to come in the full movie. We knew Deadpool & Wolverine is rated R, but even just this “Silence Your Phones” PSA is more intense than we expected. There are dick jokes. There are threats of violence. And there are F-bombs and more. We need a minute to reconcile this PSA, what it means for Deadpool & Wolverine, and the MCU.

Anyway, please silence your cellphones, bub. Or this extra vicious (and R-rated) Wolverine will make you. Gulp! Deadpool & Wolverine release in theaters on July 26, 2024.

Originally published on May 24, 2024.

The post R-Rated DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE ‘Please Silence Your Phones’ PSA Arrives in Theaters appeared first on Nerdist.

2024 is shaping up to be the year of Deadpool & Wolverine, not just on the big screen, but also in the pages of Marvel Comics. The publisher has announced The Weapon X-Traction Saga, an event story starring Logan and Wade Wilson that will run through several titles this summer. Instead of appearing in its own series, this storyline will be a backup feature, at no extra cost, through eight ongoing Marvel titles. Weapon X-Traction Saga is written by Ryan North (Fantastic Four) and illustrated by Avengers artist Javier Garrón. You can read the official synopsis below:

Weapon X-Traction kicks off when a weary Wolverine runs into a clingy Deadpool at a favorite watering hole. From this humble beginning, they embark on an epic journey of non-friendship that will carry them across the Multiverse, battling zombies and gun-wielding librarians and—of course—one another!

The first issue for this storyline is Incredible Hulk #14, hitting in July. Fitting, as that’s the same month Wolverine & Deadpool arrives in theaters. It’s also fitting that this storyline kicks off in an issue of the Incredible Hulk series in particular. In July 1974, Wolverine made his debut in Incredible Hulk #181. So his starting a saga this big where he got his start fifty years ago just feels right. Marvel has yet to reveal which other titles this storyline will unfold in. Additionally, a release from Marvel shares that “Fans will also find that each issue containing an installment of the saga will have a special WEAPON X-TRACTION VARIANT COVER” that celebrates Deadpool & Wolverine. Cute.

Although the character of Deadpool hit the scene almost two decades after Wolverine, the pair of frenemies have long been synonymous with one another. Mainly thanks to their similar powers via the Weapon X program, and their not-so-similar demeanors. Lest we forget, Ryan Reynolds’ version of the Merc with the Mouth actually first appeared in live-action in a Wolverine movie. Although, we do think Reynolds would like us to forget that actually.

The first chapter of The Weapon X-Traction Saga arrives this July. You can check out the full line-up below.

On Sale 7/17
INCREDIBLE HULK #14 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Teaser Variant Cover by Javier Garrón

On Sale 7/24
CAPTAIN AMERICA #11 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant Cover by Steve McNiven
FANTASTIC FOUR #22 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant Cover by Steve McNiven

On Sale 7/31
SPIDER-GWEN: THE GHOST-SPIDER #3 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant Cover by Ryan Stegman​​​​​​​
IMMORTAL THOR #13 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant Cover by Jorge Molina

On Sale 8/7
AVENGERS #17 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant Cover by Cafu​​​​​​​
THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MEN #6 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant Cover by Declan Shalvey

On Sale 8/14
X-MEN #2 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant by David Nakayama

Originally published on February 23, 2024.

The post Deadpool and Wolverine Marvel Comics Event Story Coming This Summer appeared first on Nerdist.

Creator Rob Liefeld made a name for himself in the early ’90s, first at Marvel Comics, and then later, as a founder of Image Comics and Extreme Studios. But of all his creations, none have become more iconic than “the Merc with the Mouth,” Deadpool. Now, after three decades, Liefeld is retiring from the character, with the new 5-issue series Deadpool Team-Up. For his swan song to Wade Wilson, Liefeld is teaming him up with some iconic Marvel heroes, and some very obscure ones. We got to chat with Liefeld about his grand Deadpool finale, the character’s early days, and his hopes for the upcoming film starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

Nerdist. You created Deadpool back in 1991, for New Mutants. And now you’re telling your last Deadpool story with Deadpool Team-Up. Is this a story where you’re just letting yourself do everything you wanted to do with the character one last time?

Rob Liefeld: Yes. I did several hundreds of pages worth of Deadpool in the last several years, since about 2017. And it was a specific story I was telling about a character that had a grudge against Deadpool. But it was not as weird and crazy as this is. And I decided… “Deadpool doesn’t have enough of a rogue’s gallery because he had zero rogue’s gallery.’ I told Marvel, “How did you go 20 years and not give him a Joker, a Sabretooth, somebody like an echo?” And so that was my intent when I did Deadpool: Bad Blood, Deadpool: Badder Blood. Look, Deadpool: Bad Blood blew up, sold out, $25 hardcover, number one on the charts. It was very well received.

Then, I did the sequel. But I thought, “You know what?” We’ve all had talents and artists, maybe it’s a musician, sometimes it’s an athlete. They stay a little too long at the dance. And right before the year ended, Marvel said, “Can you do a story in this special that we’re putting out? We would like to include you.” So I did a 10-page story in Deadpool: Seven Deadly Sins. And I literally went back and touched on kind of a weird character that I had introduced in 2004 in the pages of X-Force. And that was when I thought, “If I want to go out, I’m going to go out weird.”

The reason that I approached it this way is that I think I’m doing work that I think is really accomplished in regard to how it’s all coming out. Everything comes together the way I see it in my head, which was not always that way. And we’ve all had artists that stayed too long, they slip. I’ve know artists that I was huge fans of that don’t draw or create images anything like the way that they used to. So I said, “You know what? I can’t do this forever, so I should go out on my terms.” I talked to Marvel about it. And the long answer is yes, this is super weird and strange, with obscure Marvel characters, which is the kind of stories that I grew up on.

Back in the early 90s, you were creating characters at Marvel and Image at lightning speed. Did you ever have any inclination back then that maybe Deadpool would be the one that stuck in the pop culture consciousness the way he did, or did it take you by surprise?

Liefeld: He’s on the cover [of his first appearance in New Mutants #98]. He’s in the front. If the artist puts the character in the front, that character is the one you’re supposed to connect to. I can tell you the process, and it’s very consistent over all these years. Cable came out of nowhere, completely a reflection of me, who I was. There’s another editor at Marvel who can attest to this, I was about to take over Alpha Flight. Guess who was going to be an Alpha Flight? Cable. He was part of my Alpha Flight proposal. Then they said, “Rob, we really want you to do New Mutants.” I said, “I have to bring Cable with me.” And so then I formulated Cable into the New Mutants. Sales went through the roof.

They offered me X-Factor. There was no way I was doing X-Factor. I would’ve fallen flat on my face. I was not ready at that point in my career to do the original X-Men, to follow Walt Simonson, a god of comic books. And I said, “New Mutants, I can fix that house up. I can flip that. I can make that a fixer-upper, but I need all these things.” And Cable, boom, sales took off. And look, the last issue of New Mutants was the top-selling X-Men book of the month. That month, February 1991, New Mutants out-sells X-Men. No special bells, whistles, acetate, glow in the dark, scratch and sniff, nothing. It’s just a comic book with a story. And people showed up and they dug it.

And New Mutants #100 was after issues 99 and 98. With issue 98, they let me write the book and I said, “I’m bringing a whole bunch of stuff with me.” Look at all those… In ’98 and ’99, you got Deadpool, Shatterstar, Domino, Feral. I just crowded. I had very little time to work, but it is of legend at Marvel. They got the most mail on a new character in a decade with Deadpool. X-Force #1, suddenly he had to be on a trading card in X-Force going out at 5 million copies.

They said, “Rob, you need to move up. You have him appearing in issue seven. We can’t wait that long.” I love that they were able to have the data in their hands and say, “Rob, this character’s working with the fans.” So that’s why the cover of X-Force issue 2 is not Cable. It’s Deadpool. Like you said, I was super prolific. I was built for this shit, dude. I was built in a lab to make comic books and I was up for it. And yes, I knew Deadpool would be popular because he’s red and black like Spider-Man. I literally was thinking “Todd [McFarlane] is having a lot of success with Spider-Man. And not only that, Eric Larsen, my two peers, they’re both kicking ass on Spider-Man. And do you know how much easier it is to draw Deadpool than to draw Spider-Man?

Look, a face, eyes, nose, it’s harder to draw Josh Brolin than it is to draw a red shape with big black eyes. And I’m like, “Now I got my own Spider-Man, except he has guns and he has swords.” Because the G.I. Joe generation, Snake Eyes, we love that stuff. And boom, he clicked. And like I said, there’s a reason. People forget. I get called out all the time. People say “you didn’t have Deadpool tied into Weapon X.” I’m like, “Oh, so you never read X-Force number two that came out in 1991?” And then they go, “I thought Grant Morrison made this connection.” No, it was me. It was me. I was making those connections.

In the previews for this series, it shows Wade teaming up with characters like Spider-Gwen, the Hulk, and Wolverine. Why make your last Deadpool story a team-up title?

The thing is, when I was a kid, Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Two-in-One were both showcases for Spider-Man and the Thing, because Fantastic Four and Spider-Man were the top two franchises in the mid-70s. And Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Two-in-One always had them standing next to relatively obscure characters because they wanted to use the showcase to feature the other characters in the deep bench of the Marvel universe. So while Wolverine and some of the popular characters would pop up every now and then, they’d do some really weird characters I would never have heard of if I didn’t buy Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Two-in-One. And both of those had really long runs and I wish that those books were still out.

But when I told Marvel, “Hey, I want Deadpool in a story with Ral Dorn.” And they’re like, “Rob, who is that?” I think, “I have these people at Marvel who don’t know who Dragon Lord is.” I say, “This is by Steve Ditko. He freaking created Spider-Man for you. You should know these things.” So then I built the story around Dragon Lord who appeared once in this one annual, but has magic multidimensional realms, dragons. And I figured this is a total change of pace. This is not the Deadpool that I’ve done before.

Obviously, a character like Wolverine seems like a no-brainer for this book, but any particular reason why you had Hulk and Ghost Spider?

She’s super cool, and I want to draw her before I retire. That’s it. The reason Hulk is in there because I can work Hulk into anything. And I’ve drawn Spider-Man. Instead, I want to do Spider-Gwen. So Crystar and Dragon Lord are my weird obscure characters. Then there are your Liefeld creations like Major X and Lady Anime who are introduced in previous works I’ve done that I’ve pulled in. And then you’ve got your big bold Marvel names with Hulk, Wolverine, and then obviously, now Spider-Gwen.

I did a five-issue G.I. Joe Snake Eyes book because I had to do it before my career was over. I crossed it off the bucket list. I have kind of done everything and I’m going to go back to just doing my own stuff and finish my career doing stuff like that. Really, I do believe it’s been an amazing career. Marvel and I have gotten along so great, especially the last decade has been so much fun. My readers, the publisher, everybody has been fantastic. It is a really fun place to work, and I think they always just let me do my own thing. Every time I’m worried about fitting into continuity, they say, “Rob, just do whatever you want.” That’s what every artist lives for. “Do whatever you want.” It’s a very nice existence.

I’m an ‘80s kid, so I am very familiar with Crystar, the Crystal Warrior comics and toys. It was a fairly short-lived action figure line from that time, and it had an accompanying Marvel series, The Saga of Crystar. And he’s part of this new mini-series too. I was one of five kids who loved those toys and comics. Was it difficult to get Crystar involved in this series, since he’s technically not a Marvel character?

Liefeld: They do own him! No, Marvel owns Crystar, and they let me know, “Rob, if you want him in this bizarro story…” And I said, “He’s in.” Like I said, it’s just a really fun romp. I’m not trying to do anything k-e-w-l. There is no cool in my game. I’m just having fun with bizarre old Steve Ditko characters and designs and worlds and names. And then, of course, Crystar, I hit the mother load. I’m like, “I just drew pages this week of Wolverine and Deadpool popping Crystar in the face and him popping them back.” And I’m like, “I am in the sandbox. I’m a kid.”

So yeah, I was in high school when Crystar was part of that giant toy explosion. And what are we in right now? Because I’ve done this on my podcast. I mean, Transformers, ThunderCats, Gatchaman. It’s like all the toys are back. And so here’s one from the drawer. I found out yesterday, that half the people like you know who Crystar is, half the people are like, “What the heck is a Crystar??”

What do you feel has changed the most about yourself as a creator in the three decades since you started out, and what of those changes are you bringing to your last Deadpool story?

Liefeld: I don’t think I’ve changed all that much. I think part of the appeal is I never took a big swing in a different direction. The guys that I like kind of stayed the same as they were when they came in. John Byrne actually radically changed. And I have been on the record, I have a podcast, I talk on social media. I believe John Byrne had some glorious deal with the devil. I don’t care that I’m saying it out loud. For 10 years, he did this incredibly perfect commercial work. Then he changed his work. It wasn’t the way he drew, it was the way he laid out pages. The way he told stories, it’s totally different.

George Pérez was pretty much the same all the way through. George Pérez when he passed, he was at his peak. He stayed in a certain lane. And look, we all have bands that we love, and you look forward to their new album and you’re like, “Oh shit, they went in a totally different direction. This doesn’t sound anything like my favorite hits.” I respect them for doing that, but I would rather “Can you come back and give me something that sounds a little like the familiar sounds that I loved you for in the first place?”

Ok, last question, I know you really can’t say anything. But on a scale of 1-10, just how stoked should fans be over Deadpool and Wolverine?

Okay, I’m going to answer this very, very carefully. So I’m on the set of Deadpool one, very fortunate. Visited all three sets, hung out on each of them, never gave up any secrets, never spoiled anything. When I was there on the set of Deadpool one, I was looking at the playback on the monitors, and I’m said, “Oh wow, this movie’s going to open at $65 million.” This is February and March of 2015. I think “Shut up Liefeld. Don’t you know you don’t talk about box office while you’re making a movie? Shut up. You’re jinxing it.” Then I think, “Come on. I know what’s commercial. I know this is going to open to $65.” Well, they’re right. I did. I jinxed the hell out of that movie. It opened $135 million instead of $65 million.

Deadpool & Wolverine, the stuff that I was there in London watching them film has not been revealed in any trailer, in any teaser. And towards the end of the day when they were setting up a new shot, I think “Are they really doing this? Oh my gosh. I didn’t even know they were going there.” If they’re going to tell me that I’m jinxing the movie, I can’t possibly say more than [director] Shawn Levy has. Shawn is out there talking the movie up all the time. Here’s the deal. I think that this movie is going to be an absolute crowd-pleaser. I know comic books. I’ve lived comic books. I’ve lived comic book films. My kids grew up and love them. I don’t know how this does not completely satisfy. But I know theater owners need people.

We love the theater experience. Deadpool & Wolverine I think is going to contribute positively in a time of great need. And I’m going to tell you when I was at CinemaCon in Vegas, the guy who’s making all of the custom popcorn buckets and Slurpee cups and stuff you have not seen, they wouldn’t let it on the show floor. And they kept opening up suitcase after suitcase saying, “We can show you this because you created Deadpool. We can show you this.” And it’s going to overwhelm, but I think collectors are going to go crazy for it.

The best part is that the theaters are going to have all that money pumping in, because I want theaters to stay open. Deadpool & Wolverine is going to be great for everybody’s bottom line. And we’ve had a drought. I’m so glad that Kevin Feige was honest in Empire Magazine saying “You have to be living under a rock to not know that we haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire.” I’m now paraphrasing, but it was something along those lines. And this is a crowd-pleaser. I think you are going to dig it the most.

Deadpool Team-Up #1 goes on sale on August 28.

The post DEADPOOL Creator Rob Liefeld Talks About His Upcoming Final Wade Wilson Story appeared first on Nerdist.

If we had to predict what Deadpool & Wolverine‘s box office total will look like we’d guess “all the money.” How close will we get with that prognostication? We’re about to start finding out, because tickets for Deadpool & Wolverine have now gone on sale. And Marvel Studios celebrated its big multiversal pre-sale with a new promo and a new poster for the highly-anticipated movie.

Deadpool & Wolverine tickets are now officially on sale everywhere movie tickets are sold. That’s one big step closer to letting fans see the oozing sexual chemistry between Wade and Logan. Another is this new teaser for the film, which actually reveals there’s slightly less sexual chemistry than we thought. (Though definitely not zero!)

Deadpool & Wolverine‘s new poster does confirm there’s still plenty of animosity between the two, though.

Yeah, we’re sticking with “all the money.” And it’s a good bet on our end. Fandango has revealed that “Deadpool & Wolverine has broken Fandango’s best first-day ticket sales record for 2024. The film is also the best first-day pre-seller from the Deadpool franchise, surpassing the first day of ticket sales for Deadpool and Deadpool 2.”

Additionally, AMC’s CEO revealed that Deadpool & Wolverine has sold more day one tickets than any other R-rated movie in AMC’s history.

There you have it. Deadpool & Wolverine releases on July 26, so snag your tickets today.

Originally published on May 20, 2024.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Tickets Are Now on Sale, Movie Shares New Trailer and Poster appeared first on Nerdist.

Who doesn’t love a trailer scavenger hunt? With Ryan Reynolds involved, we know we always have to be on our toes. And this latest Deadpool & Wolverine trailer release was no different. Marvel Studios released a trailer celebrating the release of Deadpool & Wolverine tickets, but Reynolds shared his own version. Hidden in Ryan Reynolds’ version of the trailer is a QR code with a fun Easter egg inside, a disclaimer warning fans about the perils of actually seeing Deadpool & Wolverine.

You can spy the QR code at around the :03 second mark, just as Wolverine enters the scene and Madonna sounds all around us. We suppose Reynolds thought it was funny to put the code between Hugh Jackman’s legs.

If you blinked and missed the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer QR code, you can see it in the screenshot below.

But, spoilers. As mentioned, the QR code from the trailer will take you to a funny Deadpool & Wolverine disclaimer from Ryan Reynolds himself. You can check it out below.

Here’s what Reynolds had to say in his disclaimer:

We’re very excited to be joining you July 26. Many of you are very excited. But we should set the table correctly. This film is as paper-thin as a sequel to Battlefield Earth. We’re mostly going to beat each other senseless, make enemies with Disney, tell a few dick jokes, make a few jokes at my expense, make a lot of jokes at Hugh’s expense, and completely sidestep Marvel’s mandated after-credits sequence, which if you haven’t figured it out yet, is always just a commercial for another movie which will invariably end with a commercial for another movie.

So sit back, relax, let us lower your IQ and raise your heart rate while we travel to a vapid Dreamland, a place where grown men and grown women walk around in tights and act like it’s not a giant cultural cry for help. This is cinema.

We consider ourselves disclaimed. Deadpool & Wolverine releases on July 26.

The post QR Code in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Trailer Brings Secret Ryan Reynolds Disclaimer appeared first on Nerdist.

Television will rule summer with House of the Dragon, The Boys, The Acolyte, and more coming to streaming services. But that doesn’t mean that you’ll totally skip the movies, especially if you’re a Marvel fan. Deadpool & Wolverine is undoubtedly one of the most-anticipated films of 2024 that will finally bring these two best bubs (well, in Deadpool’s mind) together for some bloody and ridiculous adventures. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s shenanigans, both as themselves and in character, are certainly marketing gold. That’s why this Deadpool & Wolverine Heineken beer commercial is total perfection.

Wolverine throws Deadpool up against a tree and prepares to thrash him. But, his claws are missing in action. As he wears a confused look on his face, Deadpool explains that he used the adamantium in his claws to make Heineken beer cans. Wolverine is perplexed but, for some reason, has a drink with him. All is well… until Deadpool tries to rest his hand on his best bub’s shoulder. Wolvie says no to it very quickly.

Of course, Ryan Reynolds notes in the Deadpool & Wolverine Heineken commercial that the beer’s cans are not made of adamantium. It is a fictional alloy, after all. But Heineken Silver is a real beer and it is the first time that the MCU is doing a sponsorship for this kind of product. This “world-class light beer for world-class bubs” will probably be a popular one at some theaters but fans can grab it off shelves right now.

The post DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Heineken Ad Shows Two Best Bubs Bonding Over Beer appeared first on Nerdist.

We can all agree Logan is one of the finest superhero movies ever. Even Kevin Feige thinks so—enough that he originally told Hugh Jackman not to come back as Wolverine and to keep Logan as his final outing as the hero. Of course, both Jackman and Feige ignored this advice, and Jackman will indeed play Wolverine in the MCU’s Deadpool & Wolverine.

But, here’s what Feige shared with Jackman. He reveals, “I said, ‘Let me give you a piece of advice, Hugh. Don’t come back. You had the greatest ending in history with Logan. That’s not something we should undo.’” Oops! Of course, Feige also confirms the MCU won’t fully “undo” Logan because Hugh Jackman won’t play “the exact same Logan we’ve met in previous X-Men movies.” So, there’s that. Still, it’s funny how these things go.

For his part, Jackman previously shared that choosing to return to the character of Wolverine was a long process. Jackman recently shared of his return as Wolverine that despite his own reservations and apparently, the reservations of Feige and others, he reached a point where he just knew he had to come back.

The actor notes, “I was on my way – I was just driving – and literally just like a bolt of lightning came this knowing, deep in my gut, that I wanted to do this film with Ryan… for Deadpool and Wolverine to come together. And Jacqueline, I swear to you, when I said I was done, I really thought I was done. But, in the back of my head, ever since I saw Deadpool 1, I was like ‘Those two characters together…’ I knew it: I knew the fans wanted it. Ever since I put on the claws fans have talked about these two, so that had always been there, but I just knew.”

Jackman adds, “And I literally couldn’t wait to arrive. Soon as I arrived, I rang Ryan. And I just said, ‘Let’s do it.’ Like, I hadn’t rung my agent, no one. I had to ring my agent and said, ‘Oh, by the way, I have just committed to a movie.’”

But we’re glad to see Jackman join the MCU for one last turn as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine, and we bet Kevine Feige is, too, despite his early reservations.

Originally published on May 3, 2024.

The post Kevin Feige Told Hugh Jackman Not to Return as Wolverine in the MCU appeared first on Nerdist.