Some of the wildest ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine theories from before the movie’s premiere in July 2024 could have mᴀssively changed the MCU for good. Released on July 26, 2024, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine marked the MCU debuts of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, with the latter playing a variant of his original Wolverine from 20th Century Fox’s X-Men franchise. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine paid homage to Fox’s two-decade-long Marvel movie franchise while setting up exciting new stories for the MCU, and many theories suggested it could have done even more.

While ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine marked a strong MCU debut for its тιтular antiheroes, and bridged the gap between Fox’s and Marvel Studios’ franchises, the Phase 5 movie didn’t have the effect on the MCU’s Multiverse Saga that many predicted. There was a huge influx of speculation and fan theories concerning ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine’s narrative, characters, MCU connections and timeline that could have changed Marvel Studios’ continuity significantly. These theories didn’t come to fruition, however, so the MCU was instead left relatively unchanged after ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine.

10

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine Setting Up Avengers: Secret Wars Would’ve Added More Cohesion

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine’s First Trailer Teased A Secret Wars Connection

The very first teaser trailer for ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine ended with the Merc with a Mouth lying on the ground in the Void at the End of Time, and an issue of Marvel Comics could be seen next to him. This issue was August 2015’s Secret Wars #5, written by Jonathan Hickman and pencilled by Esad Ribic, which revealed how Doctor Doom absorbed the Beyonders’ power to build Battleworld and save many variants after incursions ravaged the multiverse. The appearance of Secret Wars #5 spurred theories that ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine would actively set up 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars.

Marvel Studios has come under some criticism as the projects of the Multiverse Saga have felt disconnected and separate from each other, much more so than those in the Infinity Saga. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine directly setting up Avengers: Secret Wars could have established more of this cohesion that many have been missing, with ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool perhaps being recruited by the Time Variance Authority to stop an incursion. This didn’t happen, however, and Secret Wars #5 seemed to be just a fun easter egg, rather than anything meaningful.

9

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine Visiting Avengers: Endgame Would’ve Rewritten The MCU Event

Avengers: Endgame’s Portals Scene Was Theorized To Be Revisited

One of the most prevailing theories concerning ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine relied heavily on a scene from the trailer that showed the тιтular antiheroes jumping through a portal apparently created by a Master of the Mystic Arts. This led some to speculate whether the portal could lead to the battleground of the Battle of Earth, which would have allowed ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Wolverine to join the iconic portal scene from 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Wolverine joining the fight against Thanos in Endgame would have seriously changed the MCU’s biggest event.

This could have been inspired by ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool’s Secret Secret Wars, a 2015 storyline that revealed ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool had been involved in the original 1984 Secret Wars storyline, but was in the background of the main action, as he wasn’t introduced to Marvel Comics until 1990. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine could have revealed Wade Wilson and Logan in some of Endgame’s smaller, unseen battles, which would have been very entertaining. However, this theory could have run the risk of tainting Endgame’s incredible final fight, so it’s best rewriting this epic battle was avoided.

8

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine Rewriting Messy MCU Events Might Have Cleaned Up The Timeline

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine’s Journey Through MCU History Didn’t Happen

In the lead-up to ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine’s premiere, one huge theory emerged that suggested the тιтular pair could have been time traveling throughout the Phase 5 movie, using the same technology Wade Wilson acquired from Cable at the end of 2018’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool 2 or a TVA TemPad. This led to speculation that ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Wolverine could have gone back in time to rewrite some of the MCU’s messiest timeline discrepancies and disappointing storylines. This theory was exacerbated by a seemingly official synopsis (via X), but ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine’s time travel story did not occur.

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Many hoped that ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine could have rewritten some of the MCU’s most controversial events, such as the romance between Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter, or that between Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner, Spider-Man: Homecoming’s “8 Years Later” blunder, Quicksilver’s death in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the entire narrative of Secret Invasion, and more. This obviously didn’t unfold, but this theory hinted at ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine changing the MCU’s entire history. This would have contributed to one of the most game-changing and intricate storylines in the MCU.

7

The TVA Hunting ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine In The MCU Would Have Made Them Villains

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine Both Caused Timeline Issues In Fox’s X-Men Franchise

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine marked the first time the Time Variance Authority had been seen in the MCU outside the Loki series on Disney+, so this was a great opportunity to establish some connective tissue in the Multiverse Saga. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Wolverine were evidently working against the TVA, namely Matthew Macfadyen’s rogue Mr. Paradox, but they were not specifically being hunted by the TVA, as one notable theory suggested. This would have been in direct response to stories from Fox’s X-Men franchise, and would have made ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Wolverine enemies of the stability of the multiverse.

Both Wolverine and ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool screwed with Fox’s timeline pretty significantly. Logan traveled to 1973 in X-Men: Days of Future Past and changed the course of history, while Wade Wilson used Cable’s technology in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool 2 to travel in time to save Vanessa, save several X-Force members, kill the ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and kill Ryan Reynolds after reading the screenplay for 2011’s reviled Green Lantern. This informed the theory that the TVA would be after them, as they may have both caused major incursion events, but this didn’t come to pᴀss.

6

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine Ending In An Incursion Would Have Been Catastrophic

The MCU & Fox’s X-Men Universe Could Have Collided In ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine was set primarily in the Void at the End of Time, but also revisited the universe of Fox’s X-Men franchise, which has now officially been designated Earth-10005. This universe was thought to be ᴅᴇᴀᴅ after Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox was finalized in 2019, and Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants brought the franchise to a disappointing end. Marvel Studios revisiting this universe in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine subsequently spurred theories that this could lead to an incursion event, with Earth-10005 and the MCU’s main Earth-616 colliding.

This would have been the perfect precursor to Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, would have established a new status quo for every project between ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine and Secret Wars, and could have marked the return of many characters from Fox’s X-Men franchise in many MCU projects. It’s probably best this didn’t happen, as including an incursion between Earth-10005 and Earth-616 would have made the MCU’s timeline pretty messy. Even so, this would have been a great way to bid a final farewell to Fox’s X-Men​​​​​​​ franchise ahead of Marvel Studios’ reinvention of the X-Men team.

5

Doctor Strange’s Cameo Could Have Perfectly Set Up Doctor Strange 3

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine’s Trailers Teased Doctor Strange’s Return

As previously mentioned, the appearance of a “Marvel Sparkle Circle” in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine spurred speculation that a Master of the Mystic Arts would appear in the Phase 5 movie, and who better than Doctor Strange himself? Benedict Cumberbatch’s formidable MCU hero has been AWOL since 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ended with him traveling through a portal with Clea to stop an incursion. His absence has been noticeable, especially since Doctor Strange is set up as a key player in the Multiverse Saga, so ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine had a great opportunity to bring him back.

It turns out that it was Emma Corrin’s Cᴀssandra Nova who created the portal in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, using a sling ring stolen from a Doctor Strange variant who enhanced it with the Reality and Time Infinity Stones. If Benedict Cumberbatch had made an appearance as Strange, however, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine could have acted as the perfect set-up for Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange 3. The sequel, which hasn’t technically been announced, is currently expected to release between Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, and the multiversal narrative of ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine would have been the perfect launch pad.

4

Many X-Men Franchise Actors Could Have Reprised Their Roles In The MCU Proper

Marvel Studios Will Soon Be Reinventing The X-Men For The MCU

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine featured the returns of several stars of Fox’s previous Marvel movies and franchises, including all the members of the Resistance, except for Channing Tatum’s Gambit. Several smaller characters from Fox’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool franchise also returned for the opening and closing of the Phase 5 movie, but ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine was originally thought to be including even more. Theories implied the entire X-Men team from Fox’s franchise could have returned in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, which would have brought the X-Men into the MCU, in one form, for the first time.

Popular theories suggested that the likes of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, Ian McKellen’s Magneto, James Marsden’s Cyclops, Halle Berry’s Storm, Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey and Liev Schreiber’s Sabretooth would all return for ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine. While many of these actors and characters were featured in the credits’ behind the scenes reel from Fox’s X-Men franchise history, they did not return in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine’s main story. This means we have to wait even longer for the X-Men to officially be seen in the MCU, though hopefully not too long.

3

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine Could Have Introduced Mutants To The Main MCU Timeline

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine Was Speculated To Retcon Mutants Into The MCU’s Main Continuity

Whether by having ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Wolverine revisit and rewrite events in the MCU’s history, or by having an incursion combine Fox’s X-Men franchise and the MCU, or through some other means, one huge theory suggested ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine could have introduced mutants into the MCU en mᴀsse. While Marvel Studios has had access to mutants since 2019’s acquisition of Fox, the process of integrating them into the MCU has been painfully slow. Only two characters, Ms. Marvel and Namor, are confirmed to be mutants in the MCU’s main timeline, but fans want more.

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine included countless mutant characters, but didn’t bring any of them into the MCU’s main continuity of Earth-616. There were no retcons made, either, which means that mutants and the X-Men are still waiting to be brought into the MCU proper. Had ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine somehow pulled this off, the shape of the MCU would have been drastically changed, as a whole new species would have been introduced. It seems we’ll need to wait a while longer for this to take place, however, but ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Wolverine could still be at the forefront.

2

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool Forming His Multiversal Avengers Would Have Debuted The MCU’s Strongest Team Yet

A Multiversal Avengers Team Would Have Been Huge For Doomsday & Secret Wars

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Wolverine’s journey into the Void, interactions with variants of notable Marvel characters and suspected exploration of the MCU’s history led to theories suggesting the pair would be forming a multiversal Avengers team. In a way, this was depicted in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, as the тιтular antiheroes joined the Resistance team fighting Cᴀssandra Nova. Ryan Reynolds seemed to hint at this, too, by sharing an image of a flag adorned with a variation of the Avengers’ logo, but this was just the symbol used by Emma Corrin’s Cᴀssandra Nova and her goons.

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It was speculated that this multiversal Avengers team could have included the likes of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter, Lashana Lynch’s Binary, Chris Evans’ Human Torch and even Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, but this version of the team did not come together. Blade, Elektra, the Human Torch, X-23 and Gambit did form the Resistance, but forming an official multiversal Avengers team could have set them up for a return in Phase 6. There is still speculation that a team of multiversal heroes will form in the MCU, and this is a very exciting prospect.

1

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool Permanently Joining The MCU Continuity Would Have Made His Future Clearer

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool Still Isn’t Actually In The MCU

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Perhaps the biggest theory concerning the ending of ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine suggested that the universe featured in Fox’s X-Men franchise would be destroyed, and Ryan Reynolds would join the MCU’s main continuity permanently as ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool. It seemed as though this catastrophic and brilliant event was being set up throughout the movie, but then ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine ended with Earth-10005 being saved and ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool returning home. This has left ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool’s future in the MCU far more uncertain, as it’s unclear when or if Earth-10005 and Earth-616 will cross paths again.

Bringing Ryan Reynolds’ ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool into the MCU permanently would have made the development of sequels and future cameo appearances inevitable. The fact that he’s still in another reality across the MCU’s multiverse, however, throws a spanner in the works. It would have made sense for Marvel Studios to destroy Earth-10005, creating a clean slate for a new version of the X-Men team to debut in the MCU, too. Since this didn’t happen, it’s possible Earth-10005 could be revisited, which could still bring Wade Wilson back after ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, but his future in the MCU hasn’t been confirmed.

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