Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine Brings Added Value To Ryan Reynolds’ ‘Deadpool 3’

Ryan Reynolds just dropped word, via an amusing self-mocking video, that A) Deadpool 3 (or whatever they end up calling it) will be opening theatrically on September 6, 2024 and B) will feature Hugh Jackman reprising as Wolverine. The third ‘merc with the mouth’ adventure, which will (at least somewhat) be part of the MCU, arrives 6.5 years after Deadpool 2. For reference, there were just under six years between X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the first Deadpool. Meanwhile, to the extent to which Jackman’s Logan does anything other than showing up and get killed as a gag, it’ll have been 7.5 years since Logan killed off his character and acted as a series finale/epilogue to Fox X-Men franchise.

No, I don’t think Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds will do anything to invalidate the ‘died holding his heart in his hand’ finale of James Mangold’s Logan. Disney might not want to annoy the director of the current Indiana Jones movie. More importantly, they still want Logan to have monetizable value as ‘Wolverine’s last ride.’ Whether multiverse-hopping or non-continuity in-jokes, I’m guessing the Logan we meet in Deadpool 3 will either be an alternate universe version (maybe wearing the comics-accurate yellow spandex) or will merely exist between the continuities of Days of Future Past and Logan. No need to endlessly speculate about what could be a 30-second cameo.

If Kevin Feige were ever going to do an MCU musical, Deadpool 3 would be the easiest choice. It’s a fourth-wall-breaking title, one which can kinda-sorta exist in the MCU continuity without making a mess, and you can have Jackman doing his song-and-dance routines. I have no idea if Reynolds can sing, but that’s not necessary as long as it’s funny. Oh, and it’ll open a month before Joker: Folie à Deux, which will be a Lady Gaga-starring quasi-musical sequel to Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker. I do wonder if the deal for Jackman involves a reigniting of the Greatest Showman IP, but bringing Jackman into Deadpool 3 is the very definition of an added value element.

It gives those indifferent to a third Deadpool a reason to care or be curious. Hugh Jackman’s Logan/Wolverine is a marquee character. Jackman’s rise from unknown franchise actor to genuine movie star has been the path Hollywood has been trying to forge with the likes of Sam Worthington, Taylor Kitsch, Henry Cavill and Chris Hemsworth for at least the last 15 years. Jackman joining the MCU in any capacity would be news. His going back to the role he defined for general audiences will only make Deadpool 3 more of an event. The continuity-loose nature allows Marvel to include Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in the MCU while eventually casting their version when the time comes.

I don’t think Deadpool 3 needs such a boost. Deadpool earned $363 million from a $132 million Fri-Sun/$152 million Fri-Mon (still a record for an R-rated opener) weekend and grossed $763 million on a $59 million budget. Deadpool 2 earned $318 million domestic and $734 million worldwide on a $110 million budget, and an additional $6 million domestic and $45 million overseas (including $24 million in China) from the PG-13 Once Upon A Deadpool cut. The biggest-grossing X-Men movies remain Days of Future Past ($746 million), Logan ($619 million) and Apocalypse ($543 million, including $121 million in China). Wade Wilson no more ‘needs’ Logan/Wolverine than Eddie Brock ‘ needs’ Peter Parker/Spider-Man for Venom 3.

Jurassic World Dominion didn’t need the Jurassic Park trio returning to rub elbows with the newbies. Sure, it made $1 billion, but Jurassic World grossed $1.67 billion while Fallen Kingdom earned $1.308 billion with few explicit franchise callbacks. Remember, when audiences show up for Split and Prometheus, they don’t automatically want a sequel to Unbreakable or a prequel to Alien. I am hopeful that all parties will be smart enough to let Deadpool 3 stand on its own without resting on multiverse cameos or franchise-specific nostalgia (just as Multiverse of Madness was 90% ‘just’ a Doctor Strange sequel). Let the Internet breathlessly speculate for two years, but just let Deadpool 3 be a third Deadpool movie.