Hugh Jackman will return to the role after over half a decade

In a radical new announcement from Ryan Reynolds, the actor confirmed a 2024 return with Deadpool 3 –– confirming that Fox Studios will bring back Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine for the long- awaited film.

Jackman will be revisiting the character over five years after bidding an emotional farewell in 2017’s Logan. Reynolds, however, decided to kick some dust off the character’s grave, with his surprising announcement.

“Hey everyone, we’re extremely sad to have missed D23, but we’ve been working very hard on the next Deadpool film for a good long while now,” Reynolds says in a hilarious announcement video, referencing the D23 Expo which took place in Anaheim in California in early September.

“I’ve had to really search my soul on this one. His first appearance in the MCU obviously needs to feel special. We need to stay true to the character and find new depth, motivation, and meaning. Every Deadpool needs to stand out and stand apart. It’s been an incredible challenge that has forced me to reach down deep inside. And I…I have nothing. Yeah, just completely empty up here. And terrifying. But we did have one idea.”

“Hey, Hugh, you want to play Wolverine one more time?”

As Jackman nonchalantly grumbled, “yeah, sure, Ryan,” the fandom’s head began to spin with a slew of bizarre and exciting theories –– so let’s explore them.

Shawn Levy, who has worked with Ryan Reynolds on Free Guy and The Adam Project, is on board to direct the third instalment of Deadpool. With this project, the franchise joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe officially following Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox. The script will be penned by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who previously wrote the first two instalments. The film will remain R-rated as per earlier reports.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for [a] fish-out-of-water. Deadpool is a lunatic at the centre of a movie. To drop a lunatic into a very sane world, it’s straight butter. It’s going to be really fun,” said Reese, speaking on the Post-Credit Podcast earlier this June.

With multiple long-term talents, a clear mission to unify two of the biggest comic book properties put to film, and plenty of source material to draw upon, fans had their work cut out for them on Reddit and Twitter.

The first big thing to understand is that for years, comic book fans have enjoyed a sort of buddy-cop the dynamic between Deadpool and Wolverine. Although the pair don’t always share the same team, they certainly make for great comedy moments in the comics –– even though their first meeting wasn’t so friendly. In 1994’s Wolverine #88, the pair cross paths as Wolverine –– weakened after losing his adamantium skeleton, and Deadpool, enraged after being dumped (no, really), cross blades.

Deadpool wins easily, giving Logan a couple of punctured lungs. A few years later, in 1999’s Deadpool #27, Wolverine returns the favour. The pair continued to hate each other until Wolverine Annual ’99, where they team up, mid-brawl, to battle a werewolf –– eventually cracking open a cold one and deciding to get along. Beautiful.

The following years saw a host of Deadpool writers try a series of forgettable team-ups and battles… all until August 1, 2012, when Marvel Comics released Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe.

This series sees a brainwashed Deadpool go on a murder spree against the entire Marvel Universe. While Wolverine plays a pretty minor role in this tale, his inclusion from Earth-141 –– Marvel’s established cinematic continuity allows for a new Wolverine to show up –– and through a series of misunderstandings and understandings, help his buddy take out creative spins on many of our own heroes. The idea isn’t too far-fetched either, with multiverse murder already on the minds of current MCU characters, and as a major plot point in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness –– and with the studios themselves now merged, the big names at Marvel can finally bring this iconic storyline to life –– cleaning up the timeline in the process.

Seriously, imagine Wolverine and Deadpool systematically beating down Chris Evans’ Human Torch –– a fan can only dream.

The next question surrounds the treatment of the Deadpool-Wolverine relationship. While the Hugh Jackman’s casting may not last too long, it’s fair to guess that the pair of actors, who are good friends in real life, may become one of the MCU’s best-loved pairings, even rivalling the dynamics between the original Avengers. The comic series that best explores this is 2020’s Wolverine (pictured above), which explores an alliance between the two characters after Deadpool discovers a deep government conspiracy that threatens the entire world. Not as high-stakes as a multiversal collapse –– but that’s where Kevin Feige comes in.

Another particularly interesting choice to make is how Feige will handle one of Deadpool’s signature storytelling quirks –– breaking the fourth wall. It’s also going to be fun to see him cross paths with She-Hulk in the near future –– with both characters being the only ones to directly address audiences. Even better would be Logan’s straight-man act –– which has the potential to result in some of the best comedy bits in MCU history.

R-rated as well, we’re in for a real fun romp that explores over twenty years of comic book history and bids farewell to the troubled, yet iconic Fox-Marvel universe. Maybe we’ll even see Brad Pitt again this time around.