Deadpool was a surprise hit for Fox at its release, which probably hoped to re-stabilize the turbulent X-Men series. The film was in development hell before the test footage for the film leaked and forced the studio into production. The film starring Ryan Reynolds was critically praised and was a commercial success for the studio. The fans were delighted to see Reynolds in the most authentic iteration of Deadpool, making meta-jokes and breaking the fourth wall, unlike his restricted and poorly-written role in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
But what fans missed was the much-anticipated confrontation between Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Reynolds’ foul-mouthed merc. And that was when Jackman was getting involved in each X-Men movie, appearing at least in a cameo, and therefore, his appearance in Deadpool was well expected. Though that sadly didn’t happen, Reynolds and the film’s writing team took advantage of the character’s numerous breaks in the fourth wall and added Jackman in as a joke.
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When Vanessa removes Wade’s mask at the end of the film, he has a Hugh Jackman face cutout stapled on his forehead. The joke was a reference to Reynolds’ love for Jackman and his ever-lasting desire to share the screen with him again. Storyboard artist Jay Oliva has recently shared the concept for that scene on his Twitter feed.
This particular sequence, of course, didn’t reference Jackman’s Wolverine but was directed at the actor himself. In a way, Reynolds managed to send a message to Jackman and included him in the movie, continuing the X-Men films ritual to have him in all films at the time.
Can Wolverine Appear Alongside Deadpool in the Future?
Deadpool entering the X-Men franchise meant one day there would be a film featuring both him and Wolverine, but the following year, Hugh Jackman retired from his role after making a final appearance in Logan. And not much later, X-Men was disbanded after 20th Century Fox was acquired by Disney, a deal completed in 2019.
With that, all the copyrights for characters featured in X-Men films reverted to Marvel Studios, who announced that X-Men will now feature in MCU films. Beginning with Patrick Stewart, that integration will soon begin in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, wherein Stewart will reprise his role as Charles Xavier/Professor X. Earlier, Evan Peters appeared as Quicksilver decoy in WandaVision, but his role didn’t take the same shape as expected after his first appearance on the show.
Besides, Deadpool III is in the making at Marvel Studios with Ryan Reynolds returning. Shawn Levy, just a day before joining the film as the director had expressed his desire to put Jackman and Reynolds together in a film after doing so in a small capacity in Free Guy.
With so much going on at Marvel Studios, a Mutants film in the making, and integration of the two franchises taking shape, there are still hopes for Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds to share the screen as Wolverine and Deadpool, giving fans the reunion they’ve been waiting for.
