For the past six years, Marvel has released no fewer than three major movies annually. This is over as of 2024. Deadpool 3 will be the one and only major movie release from Marvel Studios this year, and that means -- counter to the comic storyline “Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe” -- this time Deadpool is the only one who can save it.
It’s pretty well known that we are no longer in the prime MCU era that was exemplified by the Infinity Saga. Box office and reviews have been steadily on the decline, and the release of a Marvel film no longer means success… at least not quite like it used to. And to be fair, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a lot working against it, from many of its flagship characters no longer being part of the mix to changed audience expectations stemming from quick Disney+ releases and more.
Taking a step back could be just the right move for Marvel Studios as they course correct, plus audiences get to take a little break too. “Too much of a good thing” is a totally true aphorism, and uh, it’s even more true when the “things” are not… that… good.
It’s safe to say that Deadpool 3 was already going to be a crucial film, given that Deadpool 1 and Deadpool 2 were under the Fox banner and laid down completely different vibes than what’s typical under Disney, like explicit gross-out images and violence, self-awareness, brashness, crassness, two R ratings, sex, profanity, drugs... Deadpool really has it all.
These are the elements that audiences praised Deadpool for, specifically because these qualities are extremely appropriate and consistent for the tone of that character. These are also the things people have long feared the Disney-owned MCU would be the first to chuck out in favor of getting a coveted PG-13 rating and pleasing everyone.
Deadpool 3 was always going to have to prove it could maintain the integrity of the character, but now it’s also got to bring the effective brand power of three annual Marvel movies all in one shot. And the film also carries another burden on its back: There are several loose ends to tie up and several new world-widening concepts to introduce and tide audiences over until 2025 when presumably Captain America 4, Blade, and Thunderbolts show up.
Of course, this isn't the first Marvel movie that’s been handed that task; you probably remember Iron Man 2 accomplished the goal of widening Tony Stark’s world to include Black Widow, Nick Fury, and the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (a.k.a. SHIELD).
Those characters and concepts have lasting effects even now, and Deadpool 3 is likely taking on the very important task of widening the world, nay, universe again like its predecessors before it. Truly, if Marvel needs a movie that can actually tie up loose ends, begin compelling new ones, and make a ton of money, then Deadpool 3 is actually the best candidate to do this given the character’s playfulness with, say, mutants, and his penchant for world-breaking in general.
There are a ton of fan theories and rumors out there, but for the sake of argument, we're only going to work off more concrete clues here -- namely the images that were allegedly leaked from the set.
Surely, you’ve seen them by now, but in describing them as vaguely as possible, the leaked pics feature nods to several Fox-owned Marvel movies from the past, references to modern MCU storylines and future MCU characters we’ve definitely been waiting for casting news on, and the brightest, yellowest, most comics-accurate Wolverine suit ever. Okay, I wasn’t vague with describing what that last piece of imagery was but let's be honest here: If you've read this far, you've already seen them anyway.
Combined with other Fox/X-Men cameos from the MCU -- like Evan Peters as (sort of) Quicksilver in Wandavision, Sir Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, and Kelsey Grammar as Hank “Beast” McCoy in The Marvels end credits scene -- there’s the chance that Deadpool 3 could pick up some fan favorite mutants from other past X-movies. This could be Marvel’s saving grace box-office wise -- nostalgia is a hell of a drug -- and we're not knocking that by the way. A lot of us at IGN are pretty addicted to nostalgia.
Seriously, I screamed when I saw every single one of the Multiverse of Madness cameos, even though there was zero promise we’d ever see them fully reclaim those roles again. A big part of what drove Marvel buzz in Phase 4 was the concept of “possibility.” Remember the early days of Wandavision and the excitement of watching it for details and thinking, “Oh, it’s gonna be Mephisto!” or “We’re getting House of M!” or “Maybe this other person they’re describing will be Blue Marvel!” And then all of that… didn’t happen and we were all sad and mad at ourselves for daring to hope and vowed to not trust the MCU again.
What if Mephisto or the wild idea that some groundbreaking, world-shaking thing could happen actually did happen? That would be enough, Marvel. Absolute follow-through would make audiences psyched and ready to watch again.
Whatever Deadpool ends up doing, it’s gotta commit. I know that Disney studio head Bob Iger recently said The Marvels “failed” because there weren’t enough execs in the room. He also commented that Disney lost sight of what their jobs should be with entertainment first instead of positive messaging, which is really funny considering a year ago he said they have “meaningful, positive impact” because “One of our core values of our storytelling is inclusion and acceptance and tolerance and we can't lose that.” He’s missed the point.
Making something with impact doesn’t rely on including so-called politics or, on the opposite side of that, pretending a story is absolutely agnostic to any exterior meaning. You can’t run into making an attempt at meaningful impact while scared that you’re going to piss off a group of vocal dissenters online or that you’re not going to please every quadrant because anything you’d make would be incredibly surface level and too measured to make any kind of wave, positive or negative.
Think of “Barbie” and the impact around it -- how the movie's fans reacted and supported it, along with its detractors and how they responded. Now think what would have happened if Disney had made that film instead. This is just an example and not exactly the same as the mark Deadpool 3 would have to hit, but injecting shallow, performative values into a movie both angers the people who were going to be angry about it anyway and puts off the audience it was designed to please because the messaging was empty and weak-throated. No movie that wants to have any kind of impact (and therefore be memorable and profitable) can make a half-assed attempt; there has to be authenticity ringing from it. People will be able to tell if Deadpool gets watered down just like any other strongly branded franchise, and doing so would set a bad precedent for Daredevil: Born Again, another very R-rated Marvel character recently taken over by Disney and Marvel Studios. Deadpool 3 absolutely has to nail the Deadpool tone if Marvel wants its power back.
And while there is only one Marvel movie planned for 2024, there will be several TV series that actually provide a wide spread for different kinds of Marvel fans. Echo, which had a great trailer featuring Kingpin by the way, drops all its episodes Netflix-style on January 9. With the character focus, smaller scale, and violent tone of Echo, it seems more experimental and divergent from the other Disney+ series, and it could be really interesting to see how this one pans out.
In early 2024, X-Men '97 is dropping which: 1) will be a huge shot of nostalgia, and; 2) could remind us of how much we love the X-Men. Then we have the Agatha series centered around a fan favorite character from my personal favorite Marvel Disney+ series, Wandavision. And at some point in 2024 we also expect to see Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which looks to feature lighter, smaller stories.
Can these all hold it together before Daredevil, Blade, Thunderbolts, and (I hope I hope) Fantastic Four show up in 2025?
Acting as if the MCU is business as usual isn’t going to cut it anymore. There are several storylines that need to be closed, and even more exciting ones that need to be opened or at least expressly promised. As the one cinematic release of 2024, almost all of this pressure rests on Deadpool, but he may actually be the best candidate for the job, even if he is just an X-Men trainee at this point. I guess my real point here, our thesis, with love and respect and earnest desire for another golden MCU era, is: Please don’t mess up, Deadpool!
Kim Horcher is a writer and host. These are her opinions as someone who’s covered and greatly loved the Marvel Cinematic Universe since it all began. In other words, she could do this all day.
