One of the most anticipated movie trailers of the year arrived during Super Bowl LVIII.
Much has already been said of Deadpool & Wolverine, which will see Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool joined by Hugh Jackman, back as Wolverine after last appearing as the razor-clawed hero in 2017’s acclaimed Logan. But little has been seen until Sunday (Monday morning in Australia).
In this first-look trailer, released online following the Super Bowl spot, Deadpool finds himself joined by Succession star Matthew Macfadyen, playing an agent from the Time Variance Authority named Paradox, according to the trailer’s official captions.
Watch the video above.
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“This is your chance to be a hero among heroes,” he tells Deadpool.
In a self-aware nod, Deadpool sums it up cheekily, “I smell what you’re stepping in, sensei. Your little cinematic universe is about to change forever.”
Indeed, it will.
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At the end of the trailer, an ailing Deadpool lies on the ground and asks for help. As Jackman’s Wolverine claws comes out, Deadpool comically rethinks that plea for help.
Reynold appeared as Deadpool, the “merc with the mouth” Marvel comic book mutant, in 2016’s Deadpool, followed by the first sequel two years later.
After those two beloved entries, this threequel film, due out in late July, has a lot riding on it.
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For one, it will be Disney‘s first R-rated MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movie, as well as the Deadpool character’s official entrée into said universe – up until now, he was an offshoot of the X-Men universe that previously lived under the umbrella 20th Century Fox before that studio was absorbed by Disney.
Deadpool & Wolverine will also be Marvel’s only feature film offering during the 2024 calendar year, and after Disney chief Bob Iger’s comments last fall (spring in Australia) about prioritising the need to “turn (things) around” at the storied comic book studio, it’s safe to say Deadpool has his work cut out for him as the de facto savior of the MCU.
Ever since production on Deadpool & Wolverine began – and then got delayed by twin Hollywood strikes last year – fans have been clamoring to know more about the action-comedy hybrid, which will see a Deadpool-Wolverine rivalry/team-up that is likely to mirror the faux-“frenemy” relationship Jackman and Reynolds have maintained throughout the years, primarily on social media.
Interestingly, though, the pair previously costarred together – as the same characters, to boot – way back in 2009, in the misbegotten X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which first introduced Reynolds as Deadpool but made the mistake of sewing his mouth shut. If anything, Deadpool & Wolverine is a chance to redeem themselves after that film.
The cast for the new movie, which wrapped production last month, will include many much-loved franchise regulars – including Karan Soni, Leslie Uggams and Morena Baccarin – but will also welcome some new additions that have fed into some wild fan theories.
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The confirmed appearance of Jennifer Garner reprising the role of Elektra last seen way back in 2005, along with the rumoured inclusion of Patrick Stewart – who famously played Professor X in the 20th Century Fox X-Men films and already enjoyed an MCU cameo in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – has many believing that Deadpool & Wolverine will contain a multitude of previous fan-favorite Marvel characters, along with some exciting new ones.
One of the buzziest of those theories – so far totally unsubstantiated – connects to Super Bowl guest of honour Taylor Swift.
The superstar singer is a noted longtime friend of Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively, and has been seen alongside them both while attending boyfriend Travis Kelce‘s football games this season while his team the Kansas City Chiefs were making their way to Sunday’s (Monday in Australia) big game.
What’s more, however, is that Swift has also been seen with Jackman as well as Deadpool and Wolverine director Shawn Levy, which has caused many to speculate that Swift will also feature in a cameo in the movie.
Needless to say, only time will tell as to who else ends up in the movie, but one thing’s for sure – Deadpool will have a snarky and likely inappropriate thing to say about it.
Deadpool & Wolverine is in Australian cinemas in late July.