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It’s been 15 years since Deadpool and Wolverine were in a film together, but on July 26th, we’re finally getting the reunion we’ve all been waiting for. But what can we expect from this film? Should we be concerned? Marvel and DC’s most recent films, like The Marvels and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, didn’t do so well at the box office.

However, most of the movies in which Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool has appeared have done well, and the same goes for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine films. Will this be the perfect combination of both?

Let’s dive into everything we know so far about Deadpool & Wolverine:

The History

Deadpool and Wolverine have a long history on-screen and in the comics. On-screen, we first saw Ryan Reynolds appear as Deadpool in the infamous X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Deadpool had a completely different look from what we’ve grown used to, with blades embedded in his arms and his usually talkative mouth sewn shut.

After the adverse reactions from Marvel fans, Reynolds fought to do justice to the iconic character. Finally, in 2016, we got the Deadpool we now know and love. The film garnered $782.6 million at the box office, now ranking number four on the list of the highest-grossing R-rated films of all time. Deadpool 2 followed in 2018 and beat the first with a worldwide gross of $785.9 million.

As for Wolverine, we first saw Hugh Jackman play the surly character way back in 2000 with the premiere of X-Men. Next came X-2: X-Men United in 2003 and X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006, putting an end to the trilogy. Wolverine’s story was far from over, though.

In 2009 came X-Men Origins: Wolverine (when, you may remember, we also met the first Deadpool), where we learned more about Wolverine’s tragic backstory. Next was The Wolverine in 2013, and then we went back in time even further to meet young Professor X and Magneto (played by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, respectively) as they briefly attempted to recruit the Wolverine in X-Men: First Class (unsuccessfully).

In 2014, we watched Wolverine go back in time to save the world in X-Men: Days of Future Past. A story seventeen years in the making finally ended in 2017 with the heartbreaking Logan.

Or so we thought!

As for the comics, Deadpool and Wolverine first met and fought in Wolverine #88 in 1994. Since then, they’ve been working together or battling it out, as all good frenemies are wont to do.

The Multiverse

In its past few shows and movies, Marvel has officially embraced the multiverse.

In Spider-Man: No Way Home, we saw multiple Peter Parkers from different Spider-Man movies, as well as villains that we’d already watched perish, like the Green Goblin. In Loki, we’ve watched the characters attempt to control the timeline and keep universes separate.

But now, after Disney finally gained the rights to X-Men and Deadpool from 20th Century Studios, we can see the X-Men and Marvel heroes in the same MCU projects.

In the show Wandavision, we saw 20th Century Fox’s Quicksilver (played by Evan Peters) briefly appear despite Wanda’s brother having died in an earlier Marvel film. In Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, we saw Patrick Stewart’s Professor X and John Krasinski’s Mr. Fantastic.

(Oh boy… If you’re not lost by now, we commend you for keeping up!)

The Deadpool & Wolverine film is further proof of this combination of characters from different universes. Obviously, there’s Deadpool and Wolverine, but if you look closely at the trailer, you’ll see allusions to Ant-Man, the Time Variance Authority from Loki, Doctor Strange, and even more.

Who knows what cameos the creators are still keeping from us? And which universes will they come from?

Adding onto the confusion and possibilities that come with the multiverse, we also have the element of time travel. In Deadpool 2, we were introduced to Cable (played by Josh Brolin), who time-traveled back to Deadpool’s time. In the post-credits scene, we watched Wade Wilson (Deadpool’s actual name) go back in time to kill the version of himself in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Over decades of movies and TV shows, Marvel has successfully created an entire cinematic universe with different versions of the same character and jumping back and forth through time and universes. With the biggest crossover event coming soon, let’s hope we can keep up.

The Cast

At the head of the upcoming movie are, of course, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. They’ve been good friends ever since they met on the set of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, yet they’ve only worked together on two movies (including Deadpool & Wolverine). Their off-screen chemistry is sure to translate well in the film, where they may be less friendly but still likely have mutual respect.

We’ll also see some familiar faces, including Leslie Uggams (plays Blind Al), Morena Baccarin (plays Vanessa), Brianna Hildebrand (plays Negasonic Teenage Warhead), Shioli Kutsuna (plays Yukio), Rob Delaney (plays Peter), and Karan Soni (plays Dupinder).

Some new faces include Emma Corrin (as Cassandra Nova), Matthew Macfadyen (as Mobius M. Mobius), Jennifer Garner (as Elektra), Aaron Stanford (as Pyro), and many more.

The film is helmed by none other than Shawn Levy, longtime friend and partner of both Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, as well as the founder of production company 21 Laps Entertainment and a director and/or producer of many popular projects, including:

• Free Guy (2021)
• Real Steel (2011)
• Night at the Museum (2006)
• The Adam Project (2022)
• Stranger Things (2016—2025)
• The Spectacular Now (2013)
• Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)
• The Internship (2013)
• and many more!

In Conclusion

Overall, we’re very excited to see all the hilarious and lewd jokes, epic action sequences, nostalgic flashbacks, and likely fan service the newest Marvel movie will bring us. Get ready for one last ride with Hugh Jackman’s iconic Wolverine and another installment of Ryan Reynold’s loveable and violent Deadpool.

Head to the theaters on July 26th to watch Deadpool & Wolverine!