Deadpool & Wolverine opened on Wednesday 24 July 2024, and this one is nothing but spoilers! I’m going to write up a rundown of the film, plus analysis, Easter eggs and predictions for what comes next.
Deadpool & Wolverine is the film fans have been waiting for, packed with respect for past Marvel films and with fan service! Nothing of what makes Deadpool Deadpool has been lost under Disney! It doesn’t let fans down for a second — an absolute blast!
In this post I’ll write up, briefly, what stood out to me on a first viewing and the Easter eggs, and then get into the analysis.
Spoilers ahead
Episode-by-episode reviews of the shows that aired earlier are behind the images below — click through!
Loki series
Deadpool & Wolverine was a terrific film that doesn’t let anyone down! Deadpool’s essence survived the move under Disney intact, and it delivered exactly the entertainment fans had been waiting for!
The emotional core of this one is the return of the characters so many fans had been waiting for, and the way they’re handled. The reunion between the Logan from another dimension and Laura above all — a moving scene that pulls the tears out of you! Laura (X-23) has grown up, and putting her bond with Wolverine back on screen digs a lot deeper into her as a character.
And it properly respects the Wolverine who died in Logan — the best!!
The relationship between Deadpool and Wolverine is moving too. The two of them push each other away at first, but through Deadpool talking him round and Wolverine breaking with his past, the film shows them gradually building a bond. That process pulls real sympathy out of the audience, and watching their friendship and their understanding of each other deepen was genuinely warming.
On top of that, the theme of “family” running through the whole film generated a lot of feeling. Not just Deadpool’s own family — Wolverine’s dead family, and Elektra and the other characters, showing that bond and that willingness to hold each other up while they fight alongside Deadpool and Wolverine, sent a powerful message! It was a chance to reconfirm the bond between all those films made in the 2000s and the fans who loved them!! And Deadpool throwing himself into protecting his own universe and the people in it shows how much love and loyalty sit inside his character.
And at the end of the film, Deadpool and Wolverine fighting together with their old grudges behind them lands hard. The scene where Logan and Laura talk, both of them looking happy, and Wolverine setting off on a new adventure with Deadpool — unforgettable moments for a lot of fans!
With all those emotional scenes and themes stacked on top of each other, I think Deadpool & Wolverine will be rated as a film with deep feeling and a real message in it, not just humour!
The meta layer around how Deadpool & Wolverine got made and cast is fascinating too! Disney buying 20th Century Fox put everything at a huge turning point, with Deadpool folded into the MCU. There was a fear that it would cost Deadpool his character, but that worry turned out to be unnecessary! The film pushes past Disney’s constraints and holds onto Deadpool’s essence completely!
You could also call the characters who turn up an homage to the Marvel films of the 20th Century Fox era! The scene where Chris Evans shows up as the Human Torch rather than Captain America above all — a huge surprise for the audience! Casting tricks like that turn the whole thing into a special experience for fans!
Jennifer Garner returning as Elektra and Wesley Snipes coming back as Blade bring the superhero boom of the early 2000s straight back! For anyone who was watching films back then those characters are enormously nostalgic, and they give the film real depth!
Deadpool & Wolverine has humour, action and real emotion all at once, and it’s unmissable! Deadpool’s essence survives Disney untouched, and the result goes past what fans were hoping for! A film that leaves you with high hopes for where Deadpool and the MCU go next!
The filthy talk and the humour that define Deadpool run through the entire film, and it’s stuffed with scenes that get laughs! The jokes built on the relationship between 20th Century Fox and Disney above all, and the surprise where you think it’s Captain America and it turns out to be the Human Torch — both left a fierce impression! Deadpool’s light touch and his venomous tongue are alive and well, and it never gets dull!
Henry Cavill playing Wolverine, Chris Evans turning up as the Human Torch — the casting surprises got everyone talking! On top of that, Wesley Snipes playing Blade again, Channing Tatum’s Gambit, Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, a grown-up Laura — nostalgic characters keep arriving one after another, and for fans it’s packed with highlights! Those returns are moving for anyone who’s been a fan for years, and they make the film even more appealing!
The action scenes are getting extremely high marks! The Deadpool versus Wolverine fight staged against the 20th Century Fox logo above all — overwhelming! It lifts the momentum of the whole film and pulls the audience right in! The choreography and the visual effects are first class, and every scene has real force behind it!
The dog who won the World’s Ugliest Dog contest turns up, and how cute she is makes her something special for fans! The Dogpool scenes stand out even among everything else and are a huge highlight! This character adds humour and warmth to the film and gives the audience something new to enjoy!
The people who made it said “no homework needed,” but in practice plenty of viewers felt you really do need to have watched a lot of Marvel first! There were comments too that parts of it are hard to follow if you haven’t brushed up on the X-Men and Loki! When characters you don’t know — Elektra, for one — walk in, some scenes get hard to parse, so watching the earlier films and the related ones first is recommended! That could well be a hurdle for some of the audience!
A lot of characters you’re attached to die, and there was sadness in that! Though given where the story goes, it’s also unavoidable! Character deaths give a story depth and leave a strong impression, but they come with sorrow attached!
I was laughing for pretty much the entire runtime! So much humour in it, such a good time! It works as a hero film that feels fresh! Deadpool’s one-of-a-kind character fused with Wolverine’s dynamic presence, and the result stands well apart from other hero films!
The interview scene was on Earth-616. The Sacred Timeline, in other words. Deadpool and his lot, meanwhile, are on Earth-10005. At the time of that scene Deadpool shouldn’t have been inside the TVA yet. So how did he move between Earths? One possibility is that he used Cable’s time machine. Deadpool 2 having come out in 2018 backs that up as well.
The Earth we’ve been watching Deadpool and the X-Men on in the films all this time is 10005. At the end of this one, a Wolverine from a different Earth arrives to be the anchor. Wolverine dies in Logan somewhere around 2029, so up to that point there are two Wolverines. And doesn’t that mean there are always two Lauras, two X-23s? Or is this one of those things you’re just not supposed to worry about?
An “anchor” is basically a person who exists in one particular timeline, and without that person the timeline apparently starts collapsing. Though the collapse seems to run on a scale of thousands of years.
If this rule gets picked up properly in other films from here on, it looks like it’ll get even more interesting!!
Hunter B-15 looked like she was the one running the TVA, so it seems to be after Loki season 2
The shot of Thor cradling Deadpool was a doctored version of a scene from Thor 2: The Dark World — but is that scene actually planned for somewhere down the line? Or is it a love letter to Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor??
Deadpool asked Hunter B-15 to look after Blade and Elektra, so it seems there’s a way out for the ones left behind in the Void too, and that is such a relief… The Human Torch, though…. lol
Then again, there’s every chance he isn’t the same Human Torch we watched in the films! So maybe him dying here isn’t a problem?
Cassandra Nova, who turns up in Deadpool & Wolverine, is a powerful and genuinely terrifying villain! She’s Professor Charles Xavier’s evil twin sister, and she had serious abilities like telepathy and telekinesis! Emma Corrin’s gloriously unhinged performance was the best! And so cuuuute!!
If only Paradox at the TVA hadn’t betrayed her, she’d have stayed a reformed, world-weary ally… would she?…
Early in the film there’s a scene where Deadpool goes looking for Wolverine, the anchor of Earth-10005. Wolverine died in Logan, so he ends up hunting down a replacement Wolverine from another world. And that’s where Henry Cavill appears. Cavill is in a white tank top, tinkering with a motorbike, and Deadpool pitches him with “we’ll treat you better than the other studio did.” A black joke about Cavill being dropped from the Superman role in the DC universe.
Henry Cavill as Wolverine is one to single out! Wolverine has meant Hugh Jackman for as long as anyone can remember, so casting Cavill was a shock to a lot of fans! That muscular, wild performance breathes new life into the character! Cavill already made his name as Superman, and here as Wolverine he puts every bit of that charisma on screen!
Maybe he’s the one who ends up playing the MCU’s Wolverine???
Next, Chris Evans coming back as the Human Torch can’t be missed either! Most of the audience knows Evans as Captain America, but his Human Torch role was the one that tended to get forgotten!
Deadpool and Wolverine, dropped into the Void by Mr. Paradox of the TVA. A mysterious man calls out to them there, and he turns out to be Chris Evans. But this Evans isn’t Captain America — he appears as the Human Torch. Him shouting “Flame on!” and his body going up in flames was a huge surprise.
The end credits reveal just how foul his mouth really is and I howled! And the Furiosa bit too!
Wesley Snipes playing Blade again is moving for a lot of fans! Snipes’s Blade took over the world from the 1990s into the early 2000s, and this return brings that whole era straight back! His distinctive action style and his charisma are both alive and well here, and getting to see him on screen again made me so happy!!!
The “there’s only one Blade” line is pointing at the MCU version of Blade currently being made
Gambit turning up in Deadpool & Wolverine was a huge surprise and a genuinely moving one for fans! Channing Tatum’s Gambit embodies that particular charm and style perfectly! Gambit’s charisma and his card work add energy and a thrill to the whole film. The scenes where he fights alongside Deadpool and Wolverine especially are gorgeous to look at, and the choreography is worth every second.
Overall, Gambit’s appearance makes Deadpool & Wolverine that much more appealing and lifts the quality of the whole thing. As a fan, all that’s left is waiting for Gambit to show up on screen again!
Plans to film Gambit started in 2009, and Channing Tatum was announced as the lead, but production was delayed over and over. Directors changed constantly — Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman and Gore Verbinski were all involved, but every one of them eventually stepped away. Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox hit production as well, and the direction of the project went up in the air. So him actually appearing here feels like FINALLY!!! and I could not be more excited!
The line “maybe I was born in the Void?” is hinting at the film ending up cancelled, and it got a laugh out of me lol
Elektra turns up while Deadpool and Wolverine are making for the border region to take down Cassandra Nova. Jennifer Garner plays Elektra again, and the sight of her brings back the 2005 film Elektra. Garner returning to the role was a moving surprise for a lot of fans!
Elektra showing up was such a welcome surprise! Jennifer Garner back in the role above all took me right back to the 2005 Elektra!!!
Elektra (2005) is a spin-off built around the Marvel Comics character Elektra Natchios, with Jennifer Garner in the lead! It was made as a follow-up to 2003’s Daredevil, but the critics rated it poorly and it wasn’t a success at the box office either.
The story follows Elektra using every bit of her skill as an assassin while facing her own inner conflict. On that front the film was reaching for character depth, but the attempt didn’t necessarily land with audiences or critics. The script and the characterisation drew a lot of the criticism in particular.
And a grown-up Laura (X-23) coming back is another one to watch for! Laura first appeared in Logan as a clone carrying Wolverine’s genes, and she captivated everyone with her fighting ability and her emotional depth! This film shows how she’s grown, and puts her bond with Wolverine front and centre all over again! Laura was the balm of this whole film…!!
The sunglasses scene was
That breezy Deadpool — Nicepool, rather — the whole bit with him was so funny
Ryan Reynolds has made a joke video in the past claiming he has a twin, and once you know that it gets even funnier.
Him getting riddled with bullets and dying got a laugh out of me too
The “on your left” when Wolverine gets carried in at the TVA is one of Captain America and company’s signature lines!
That’s the famous comic storyline!! Want the MCU to do it properly one day~~
Happy from 2018 turns up!!!
Absolutely floored me lolol
Robert Downey Jr. didn’t cameo though, which figures….
There’s a Spider-Man impression going on inside the car!
Last of all, Dogpool showing up is another special part of the film! The dog who won the World’s Ugliest Dog contest makes her screen debut here, and everyone fell for how cute she is! This character adds humour and warmth to the film and gave the audience something new to enjoy!
There was a sticker on the back of the car, designed after the Israeli flag, reading “everyone get along”! Hmm~~ topical, and a message with real heat in it
When the car ploughs into the enemy’s base the tyres are wrapped in flame, and that had a real Ghost Rider feel to it!