How The Heck Is Wolverine Alive In Deadpool 3? An Investigation
The "Deadpool" movies are a bit of a miracle of superhero cinema. The first film was famously greenlit after test footage leaked in 2014 (and only became an origin story after Ryan Reynolds came on board), and went on to break box office records. Now, a third film is finally in production after originally getting caught in the middle of a studio acquisition — especially funny considering Fox mandated a Disney joke cut from "Deadpool 2."
"Deadpool 3" is posed to be one hell of a superhero movie. While the MPA (Motion Picture Association, formerly MPAA) hasn't formally given an audience rating for the film, the cast and crew have continuously promised the film will retain its R rating, which is cause for celebration given that this would be Deadpool's introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This means there is a whole new world to explore in this movie, and if the first official image and some recent bizarre casting news are to be believed, this may be the biggest, most meta "Deadpool" yet.
Indeed, arguably the biggest appeal of "Deadpool 3" is the news that Hugh Jackman will not only return to play Wolverine, but he's a big part of the story, and will even don the character's iconic yellow costume. But wait, didn't Wolverine die in "Logan," the Oscar-nominated 2017 film? Why, yes. Yes, he did. And there we have the big question mark going into "Deadpool 3." How is Wolverine alive? Let's dig in, shall we?
Gotta get back in time
Here's the most obvious explanation: "Deadpool 3" simply takes place before the events of "Logan." After all, that movie takes place in the far, far future of 2029, after all the X-Men are dead, while the first two "Deadpool" movies seem to take place in a more contemporary setting. Following this logic, they could simply say "Deadpool 3" takes place just before Professor X's seizure killed hundreds of people, and that's why Wolverine is here alongside other characters.
This tracks with what Hugh Jackman himself has said in the past. In an interview with Sirius XM (via GameSpot), Jackman said the Marvel movies are used to "moving around timelines" so they don't have to mess with "Logan," but instead take from either an earlier or an entirely different timeline. This last bit is consistent with comments from Reynolds and Jackman a while back confirming that "Logan" is a "totally separate thing" and that they wouldn't be touching that movie. Considering Reynolds has been trying to get Jackman in a "Deadpool" movie for over a decade, it makes sense they wouldn't want to mess with such a successful movie.
Then there's the chance they will simply use the multiverse to explain his appearance, making him an alternate Wolverine not from the "X-Men" universe we know from the other movies. That would explain the yellow suit, at least.
But this is "Deadpool," so it can't be that obvious an answer, can it?
Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff
There's another way this could work, and Jackman himself already gave us a hint. Back in March, Jackman told a French outlet that his would "be a dual role" in the film. Again, it is easy to make the multiverse assumption and take this to mean there will be multiple variants of Wolverine in the film, but Jackman's comments seem to indicate more than a quick cameo. If that's the case, there's another, wilder idea I wouldn't put past Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and the rest of the "Deadpool 3" writing team.
What if "Deadpool 3" follows Wade completely shattering the fourth wall (either in our universe or another one) and teaming up with not only Wolverine, but Hugh Jackman himself as he makes another Wolverine movie? This could explain why he's wearing the yellow suit that he never wore in our universe, why Wolverine is alive, and why Jackman is playing a dual role. This could be a case of Deadpool wandering into a movie set, and forcing Jackman (in costume) to team up with him because a fake Wolverine is better than no Wolverine.
Granted, it's a ludicrous idea, but this is still "Deadpool." Besides, we already have that set photo showing Jackman and the ruins of a giant 20th Century Fox logo, so this movie is clearly going very meta. Why not go all the way and introduce Hugh Jackman as an actual character playing Wolverine?
We'll find out what happens on November 8, 2024.