Deadpool Needs to Interact With More Than the Fox Side of the MCU

The Big Picture

• Deadpool & Wolverine
  will bring together characters from the Fox/Marvel movies for a grand farewell but shouldn’t solely rely on them.
• Marvel Studios has already exploited the most important Fox/Marvel characters, so new surprises may not have the same impact.
• Deadpool & Wolverine
  should take the opportunity to intermingle with other MCU characters and correct the lack of recent crossovers.

With the first trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine, it’s official: the Merc with a Mouth is coming into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This teaser already saw Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) getting snatched up by agents from the TVA, the agency introduced in Loki. TV screens at the TVA showed Wilson footage from classic Marvel Studios titles. The Deadpool franchise is about to get integrated into the biggest superhero saga on the planet in a major way, though the trailer largely emphasized crossovers with other 20th Century Fox Marvel superheroes. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, of course, showed up in shadow-form, Aaron Stanford’s John Allerdyce / Pyro is back from the first two X-Men sequels (his first time playing the character in nearly two decades), and (unseen in the teaser) Jennifer Garner’s Elektra is reportedly coming back from Daredevil.

A brief glimpse of a crumbling 20th Century Fox logo in the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer makes it apparent: this particular entry isn’t just about Deadpool coming into the MCU. It’s a grand farewell to the days of Fox/Marvel movies. That means there will be cameos a-plenty from actors from the original X-Men, Daredevil, and Fantastic Four movies…but those shouldn’t be the only performers from other superhero features showing up in the runtime of Deadpool & Wolverine. For this particular installment, Deadpool and his raunchy pals should really be rubbing shoulders with MCU characters, not exclusively previously established figures from other Fox/Marvel franchises.

How Deep Is the Bench of Fox/Marvel Characters Really?

When Spider-Man: No Way Home dropped a bevy of characters from old Spider-Man movies (including two other Spider-Men!), it was truly a momentous event on many fronts. For one thing, characters like Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock hadn’t been seen in decades, while the MCU Spidey had established enough of his own universe that it felt acceptable to throw some pre-established figures into it. After two solo Tom Holland Spidey films, why not embrace the greater legacy of this franchise? Deadpool & Wolverine could pull off the same kind of cathartic cinema rooted in old superhero movie characters, but it’s going to be a lot tougher.

For one thing, No Way Home was employing some of the most beloved supervillains in history, like Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborne/Green Goblin. Garner’s Elektra, meanwhile, is, to say the least, a bit less revered. Her return isn’t exactly something people are clamoring for. The same can be said for the assorted actors who played either of Fox’s versions of the Fantastic Four or even many of the mutants from the initial X-Men films. There may be some moviegoers out there clamoring for Kevin Durand’s The Blob to come back in Deadpool & Wolverine, but the concept of seeing someone like him again isn’t super enticing for most people.

The biggest Fox/Marvel characters with an equivalent pop culture impact to, say, Dafoe’s Green Goblin Marvel Studios has already exploited. A variant of Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier appeared in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, while Kelsey Grammer’s Hank McCoy/Beast was the centerpiece of the mid-credits scene for The Marvels. Meanwhile, pre-2019 Fox/Marvel titles have either run a bunch of their most beloved characters into the ground or already done crossover gags involving Deadpool. The Merc with a Mouth got to (obliviously) inhabit the same space as the First Class-era X-Men in a Deadpool 2 gag. The studio already scored fan nostalgia with the original X-Men mutants by bringing James Marsden, Elliot Page, and everyone else back in the ending of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Having these mutants show up in surprise cameos has already been done a lot, even before Marvel Studios got its hands on these characters.

With so many “surprise” mutant cameos dominating comic book movies in the last decade, the novelty of Deadpool rubbing shoulders with pre-established Fox/Marvel characters doesn’t wield the same sting it could have under different circumstances. Marvel Studios has especially already gone to the mutant fan service well quite a few times at this point, so it’s doubtful more X-Men references will just make audiences pop with glee. However, even more than that problem, an issue related to the MCU’s recent installments makes it extra important Deadpool & Wolverine make time for Deadpool to rub shoulders with other Marvel Studios characters. That issue, as strange as it sounds, relates to recent MCU properties being oddly detached from one another.

What Happened to the MCU Crossovers?

Marvel Studios projects do not need cameos from other superheroes to be “good” movies. Something like Quantumania wouldn’t have been salvaged if Moon Knight had shown up, nor would the enjoyably standalone Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 have been further improved if Werewolf By Night made a cameo. However, past MCU projects like Thor: Ragnarok and Captain America: Civil War have delivered exciting and fun ways different MCU properties can mingle, even if it’s just for one scene. The ability for superheroes like Black Panther and Doctor Strange to show up for a single set piece or in a supporting role reminds viewers of how dense this larger universe is. Ideally, their presence in these titles would also serve the narrative to such a successful degree that it doesn’t feel like they’re just around to tease sequels.

It’s been a pity to see recent MCU projects made in the wake of Avengers: Endgame not embrace good versions of crossovers, with Marvel Studios instead focusing on absorbing all past non-Disney Marvel movies (Spider-Man, X-Men, etc.) into its larger continuity. This has left newbies to the universe like Moon Knight, Eternals, and Werewolf by Night feeling like odd vestiges in the larger universe. Deadpool & Wolverine could be a fun chance to correct this problem and explore new depths of pre-established MCU figures by seeing how they fare rubbing shoulders with such a foul-mouthed character. We’ve seen plenty of Captain Marvel or Valkyrie before, but what new depths open up when they have a chaotic figure like Deadpool to contend with?

Deadpool & Wolverine could finally see MCU properties intermingling again after so many years of the only Marvel-based crossovers being between MCU characters and Sony/Fox/Marvel properties. Plus, Deadpool developing a rapport with a bunch of these figures could develop interesting or amusing dynamics that could factor into further Marvel Studios titles well into the future. It’s doubtful Colin Farrell’s Bullseye would be a long-term player in this franchise if he were to make a Deadpool & Wolverine cameo. But Deadpool and Shang-Chi rubbing shoulders. That’s a dynamic that could reverberate throughout future Marvel adventures.

Granted, Deadpool & Wolverine has clearly made its mark in the sand on its desire to be a farewell tour for the Fox/Marvel characters, which could result in some entertaining sequences, especially if they allow previously under-developed X-Men, Daredevil, and Fantastic Four figures to finally develop some personality. Still, on many fronts (including correcting the MCU’s recent approach to “crossovers”), it’d be a hoot to see this Shawn Levy directorial effort also make room for Deadpool to crack-wise with long-time staples of the MCU. Marvel Studios has regained the film rights to Deadpool. Now let’s see him interact with characters he never could meet before rather than exclusively pair him up with people that could’ve shown up in Deadpool 2.

Deadpool 2 is streaming on Disney+ in the U.S.

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