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Deadpool and Wolverine became a cultural phenomenon upon its theatrical release, marking the official MCU debut of both characters following the Fox-Disney acquisition. The film is packed with layered references to the Deadpool franchise, X-Men history, and broader MCU lore that reward careful viewers with callbacks and Easter eggs throughout.
The opening credits themselves set the tone for what's to come. Marvel Studios created new insert shots featuring Deadpool footage from his first film and clips from X2, bringing multiple X-Men into the MCU continuity. The creative team deliberately designed the opening as bloody as possible to signal that Disney wasn't constraining the R-rating, making clear this was something different from typical MCU fare.
The Logan Grave Opening
The film begins in the woods where Deadpool discovers Logan's skeleton, a direct callback to the ending of Logan. The production used VFX to recreate the North Dakota grave site near the Canadian border, complete with period-accurate details like pebbles covering the grave and an X marking. A prison number visible on the skull reads 24601, referencing Jean Valjean, the character Hugh Jackman played in Les Misérables. This same number appeared in Deadpool 2 during a prison escape sequence.
Deadpool does an Australian accent while moving the corpse, mimicking a moment from the first Deadpool film. He counts 206 bones in the human body, then adds one more while claiming to watch Gossip Girl, which stars Blake Lively. Lively returns here as Lady Deadpool in the final battle, alongside Reynolds' actual children playing Deadpool variants.
Production History and Creative Decisions
The film was originally titled Deadpool and Friend before being changed the day before the first trailer dropped following fan backlash. Reynolds had pitched an elaborate marketing stunt: releasing the entire film as Alpha Cop, a movie about two guys sharing a brain, then cutting to Deadpool and Wolverine five minutes in as a surprise reveal. The studio rejected this approach.
Kevin Feige initially resisted bringing Hugh Jackman back, believing Logan provided the perfect ending to Wolverine's story. However, the Multiverse concept opened new creative possibilities. The Multiverse Saga gave Feige confidence the return could work, and Jackman was eager to reunite with Reynolds, whom he'd wanted to work with since their first meeting on X-Men Origins Wolverine.
One of Feige's key demands was using the classic yellow costume, something the Fox films had avoided. Jackman explained the original decision: The Matrix was culturally dominant when X-Men was made, leading studios to believe leather would appear cooler than comic-accurate costumes. Recent Marvel projects like X-Men 97 even mocked the leather look, making the shift to comic accuracy feel earned.
The Avengers Tower Sequence
Deadpool uses his time travel device from Deadpool 2's post-credits scene to visit the Avengers Tower on March 14, 2018, the release date of Despicable Me 2 and, coincidentally, the date he became the 616 MCU's anchor being. This places the scene after Spider-Man Homecoming but before the Snap in April 2018, explaining why Tony Stark isn't present.
Happy Hogan greets Deadpool at the tower, and the office is filled with MCU history. Visible details include the original Arc Reactor in its display case, agent Coulson's Captain America trading cards, the Mark 2 helmet, a Forbes Magazine featuring Pepper Potts, and Newton's pendulum sticks from Iron Man 2. A small plastic Iron Man helmet from the Stark Expo covers a photo of Tony and Peter Parker, possibly referencing the Spider-Man ownership situation between Disney and Sony.
The scene emphasizes that Happy has found contentment in his role, delivering a message that contradicts Deadpool's ambitions. Happy explains people join the Avengers not because they're needed but because the world needs them. This conversation plants seeds for Deadpool's internal conflict: whether he can matter without extraordinary circumstances.
The TVA and Anchor Beings
Paradox, the film's primary villain, operates within the TVA introduced in Loki. He explains that each universe has an anchor being, a central figure whose presence stabilizes reality. Deadpool's universe's anchor being is Wolverine. With Logan dead from the events of Logan, the 616 is slowly decaying.
Paradox has invented a device called the time Ripper to accelerate the destruction of timelines rather than waiting for natural degradation. He needs Deadpool because the character is destined for something greater in the future, making him valuable to the TVA's operations.
The film shows clips from Captain America movies to illustrate this, including moments from The Avengers, The Winter Soldier, Civil War, and Age of Ultron. A striking sequence shows what appears to be Deadpool dying in Thor's arms, filmed to look like Loki's death in Thor the Dark World. This footage is framed as occurring in the distant future, potentially during Secret Wars.
Comic Accuracy and Character Details
Deadpool's suit was redesigned to evoke 1990s aesthetics, featuring larger black eye surroundings and a lighter red shade. The character uses Wolverine's adamantium claws as weapons in the opening sequence, dancing to Bye Bye Bye while wielding them. This song choice wasn't random; it references X2, where a similar track played on the radio during an action scene.
Throughout the film, Deadpool calls Logan peanut, mirroring how Scotty calls his daughter Cassie. This nickname establishes their dynamic and provides continuity with prior films. The film also maintains callbacks like the mug reading I Like Me, which connects to a John Candy monologue from Trains, Planes and Automobiles, a film that appeared in both Deadpool sequels.
Supporting Cast and Cameos
The film brought back nearly every major character from the Deadpool films for a birthday party scene, including Blind Al, Dopinder, Shatterstar, Vanessa, Buck, Megasonic Teenage Warhead, and Yukio. Notably absent was Weasel, played by TJ Miller, who faced serious accusations unrelated to the film's production.
The party sequence includes callbacks to prior films, such as Blind Al's desire for cocaine referencing her subplot from earlier installments. Dopinder attempts to improvise during a birthday speech but is shut down because Reynolds couldn't add new lines during the writer's strike.
The film also features Jennifer Garner returning as Elektra, marking the first time the Daredevil character appeared in the MCU. John Favreau returns as Happy, completing a full-circle moment since he played Foggy Nelson in the 2003 Daredevil film and later became instrumental in creating the MCU through his collaboration with Kevin Feige on Iron Man.
The Multiverse and Future Implications
The destruction of timelines and the concept of anchor beings sets the stage for major future MCU events. The void, which Deadpool and Wolverine traverse during the film's climax, may eventually transform into Battleworld as part of Secret Wars storylines, absorbing the remains of destroyed universes into a single patchwork realm.
Paradox represents a new threat distinct from Kang or other Multiverse villains. His plan to eliminate timelines wholesale differs from the natural decay that occurs when anchor beings die, making him a direct antagonist to the MCU's stability.
